Interior chief discusses security issues with Mindanao peace councils

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 16): Interior chief discusses security issues with Mindanao peace councils

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno convened here Wednesday afternoon the Mindanao cluster of the Regional Peace and Order Councils (RPOC) to respond to issues affecting security and safety in the Mindanao region.

Present during the meeting that was held at the Sultan Kudarat provincial gymnasium were RPOC chairpersons and vice chairpersons.

Among the major concerns discussed during the meeting were illegal drugs, illegal gambling, terrorism and insurgency.

Speaking to RPOC chairpersons, Sueno said the cluster RPOC meeting aims to synchronize measures on how to restrain criminality or any issue that affects the peace and order situation in Mindanao.

Governor Sultan Pax Mangudadatu, Al Haj of Sultan Kudarat was the host. Mangudadatu chairs the RPOC in the Soccsksargen region.

During the plenary, RPOC chairpersons presented the security situations in their respective regions based on reports from local officials, specifically on illegal drugs, illegal gambling, terrorism, and insurgency.

“We want to provide a safe and secure atmosphere that is conducive to the region’s residents and investors,” said Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Hataman took his oath of office as RPOC chairperson before President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang last January.

The other regions in the Mindanao RPOC cluster are regions 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula); 10 (Northern Mindanao); 11 (Davao region); 12 (Soccskargen); and 13 (Caraga).

The RPOC officials were briefed by representatives of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines on the current peace and order situation on the island based on reports from their field units.

Police Supt. Ireneo Dalogdog spoke about illegal drugs and criminality while Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr.of the Western Mindanao Command, discussed insurgency.

The RPOC plays a vital role in maintaining peace and order in every region in the country and keeps the members abreast of the prevailing conditions, issues, and concerns affecting peace and order in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=964497