Rep. San Fernando Questions ‘Ghost’ Accomplishments in OPAPRU Budget: “Peace tables multiply, but none ever close”
COTABATO CITY (September 27, 2025) — Kamanggagawa Partylist Rep. Elijah “Eli” San Fernando grilled the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) during the plenary debates on its proposed 2026 budget, after the agency reported “completed” implementation of all peace agreements in government documents despite unresolved peace tables and billions of pesos in allocations.
San Fernando opened by asking how many peace tables remain active. OPAPRU’s budget sponsor, Rep. Mercedes Alvarez-Lansang, confirmed that four are ongoing: with the MILF, MNLF, CPP-NPA-NDF, and RPMP-RPA-ABB. When pressed for figures, Alvarez admitted OPAPRU could not provide complete data for 2022-2025, but disclosed that since 2019, P9 billion has been allocated to the MILF normalization program and P1.7 billion to the RPMP-RPA-ABB.
San Fernando then demanded clarity on where these billions actually went. “Ano po ang laman ng budget na ‘to per item for MILF at RPMP peace tables? He added: “Hindi naman po pupuwede na kada taon maghihing ang OPAPRU ng budget, and yet we do not have data. We are more than willing to extend our help and assistance, but how can we do that if we do not have the data?”
San Fernando flagged inconsistencies in the agency’s reporting. He cited the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) midterm update released in August 2025, which marked the “full implementation of all signed peace agreements” with a green check. Yet OPAPRU’s own performance indicators remain stagnant: normalization components under the MILF agreement show only 17.5% accomplishment in 2024 and a mere 20% target for 2026. For the MNLF peace agreement, completion is stuck at 70% from 2024 through 2026.
“Paano naging complete ang implementation
kung mismong targets ng OPAPRU ay
naka-flatline lang at wala namang pag-usad?” San Fernando said. “How can OPAPRU realistically expect to jump from 20% to 100% in just two years before 2028? That is unacceptable. Reports say ‘completed, but what we see on the ground and in your own targets show otherwise. These are ghost accomplishments.”
Outside the hearing, San Fernando minced no words. “Nilalagakan natin ‘yang ahensyang ‘yan ng bilyun-bilyong pondo bawat taon, tapos hindi naman totoo yung nire-report. Paano natin matitiyak na magkakaroon talaga ng kapayapaan sa bansa natin?”.
San Fernando also zeroed in on the MILF peace process, noting field reports that decommissioning has stalled because the government has not delivered socio-economic commitments.
“According to reports, the MILF has halted the decommissioning of its remaining combatants because the OPAPRU is not honoring its end of the bargain. Sumagot na ho in multiple reports. The government is not honoring its commitment as enshrined in the peace agreement, and that is why they have stopped decommissioning the combatants of MILF,” he said.
He contrasted this with OPAPRU’s focus on MILF decommissioning, asking: “Bakit may pressure sa MILF to decommission, while hindi nagagalaw ang private armed groups? Reports on the ground say that we are so focused with the decommissioning of MILF combatants, and yet, private armed groups, in that particular area and region, walang ginagawa.”
San Fernando quoted reports that say ‘Secretary Galvez is a saboteur of peace’, noting how the peace process in BARMM is on the verge of collapse due to the government not fulfilling its promises. “Our goal is genuine, lasting peace. But if OPAPRU keeps marking incomplete work as complete, ay naglolokohan na lang ho tayo niyan.”
On the RPMP-RPA-ABB, San Fernando noted that groups like the NDCG have not meaningfully participated for years, yet remain in reports with high completion rates and continue to receive budget allocations. “Our taxpayers [are] still funding peace tables with groups that no longer meaningfully participate. What is the policy of the state when agreements remain dormant for decades?” he asked, demanding updates on when the Joint Enforcement and Monitoring Committee was last convened.
Closing his interpellation, San Fernando reminded OPAPRU that peace is a constitutional aspiration but cannot remain unresolved indefinitely. “Gusto po ng mga manggagawa at ordinaryong Pilipino na magkaroon na ng tunay at pangmatagalan na kapayapaan. This is a constitutional aspiration; but it should not become a permanent line item without closure. We owe it to the Filipino people to ask: when will these peace tables finally deliver their promises, or are we financing endless processes without end?”
The lawmaker earlier filed House Resolution No. 126, directing the appropriate committees to investigate gaps in the ongoing normalization process of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
Following the plenary debates, OPAPRU’s official website became inaccessible and has remained so until the release of this statement, with key documents on peace tables still
unavailable to the public.
