BARMM asks DILG for Cotabato City jurisdiction hand-over

COTABATO CITY  --- The highest policy-making body of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has requested the Department of the Interior and Local Government to immediately turn over Cotabato City to the regional government under the supervision of the region’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG-BARMM).

A resolution passed by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) on February 24 pointed out that the turn-over of Cotabato City is mandated under the provisions of Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). 

The resolution quoted paragraph D, Section 3 of Article XV of the BOL stating that “the city of Cotabato shall form part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region if the majority of the votes cast in the city shall be in favor of its inclusion.”

On January 21, 2019, residents of Cotabato City affirmed its inclusion to the BARMM through a plebiscite with 36,682 “yes” votes over the 24,994 “no” votes.

Sitting as the National Plebiscite Board of Canvassers, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on January 25 last year certified the results of the plebiscite for the ratification and inclusion of Cotabato City in the BARMM.

However, the local government headed by Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi has a pending case before the COMELEC and the Supreme Court questioning the results of the plebiscite.

Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte met with Sayadi and BARMM interim Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim to resolve the issue.

The President told Sayadi and Ebrahim that he will decide on the matter in due time and that his decision will be for the good of both sides.

Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo, MILG minister and concurrent BARMM spokesperson, said that since Cotabato City by virtue of the plebiscite has been constituted "as part and parcel of the BARMM, no executive action may detach it from the autonomous region."

“Under the law, the inclusion of Cotabato City is automatic and mandatory. No further action is needed and when people have spoken, it must be carried out,” Sinarimbo said in a statement.

Aside from Cotabato City, 63 villages in six towns of North Cotabato province have opted to join the BARMM during the 2019 regional plebiscite. (EDWIN FERNANDEZ, PNA - COTABATO, MINDANAO EXPOSE')

430 No. Cotabato barangays drug-free

COTABATO CITY --- At least 430 of the more than 500 barangays in North Cotabato have been declared drug-free by an inter-agency oversight committee led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The committee is composed of representatives from the Regional Police Office, local government units, and health departments.

PDEA Regional Director Naravy Duquiatan said the committee aims to declare the remaining 107 barangays drug-free within the year.

Records showed that 436 of 543 barangays in the province were cleared of drugs in recent weeks.

“We attribute this achievement to the governor and to the city and municipal mayors,” Duquiatan said.

Governor Nancy Catamco, chairperson of the interagency, multi-sector Provincial Peace and Order Council, said the provincial government, city and town  mayors, as well as barangay officials, would work together until the remaining barangays are cleared of drugs.

More than 50 major drug suppliers have been arrested in separate police operations conducted in the province since May last year.

Duquiatan said the PDEA Regional Office is doing its best to address the drug issues in the villages. (MEDIA PARTNER, MINDANAO EXPOSE')         

Army seizes IEDs, bomb-making materials in Maguindanao

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao --- Government forces discovered last February 27 a hideout of the Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao and seized explosives and bomb-making components in the area.

Acting on a tip from civilians that confirmed Army intelligence information about the presence of BIFF bomb makers in the marshland of Maguindanao, the Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion said it immediately conducted law enforcement operations in an area bordering the towns of Mamasapano, Datu Salibo, Shariff Aguak, Datu Saydona Mustapha, and Saudi Ampatuan early Thursday (February 27) morning. 

According to the 57the IB, a brief firefight ensued after the BIFF opened fire on approaching lawmen at 6 a.m. at the periphery of Shariff Saydona Mustapha town, but the rebels quickly fled deep into the marshland, leaving behind their bomb-making materials and complete explosives.

Lt. Col. Edwin R. Alburo, 57th IB commander, said the troops found eight improvised hand grenades, roadside improvised bombs, eight live hand grenades, bomb-making components such as black powder, cut nails, cut metals, switchboard, electrical wiring, and ammonium nitrate and documents at the BIFF hide-out.

“A well-coordinated operation led to the recovery of high explosive materials and eventually foiled bombing plots by the BIFF,” Alburo said in a statement.

He added that the IEDs are ready for deployment by the BIFF but the military could not say where and when it would be brought by the radicals.

Col. Jose H. Narciso, 601st Infantry Brigade commander, lauded the 57th IB troopers and vowed there will be no let-up in the manhunt against BIFF elements "who sow fear in civilian communities through violent extremism."

The 601st IBde is based in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao. (EDWIN FERNANDEZ & NOEL PUNZALAN, PNA - COTABATO, MINDANAO EXPOSE')

P1.3-B allotment for road projects in 63 NorCot villages

COTABATO CITY  ---  The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has set aside P1.3-billion worth of roads for 63 villages in North Cotabato that now form part of the fledging region.

This was revealed last February 24 by Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo, head of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG-BARMM) and regional spokesperson.

“This year alone, we have prepared about P1.3-B fund to build modern road networks in the 63 villages of North Cotabato,” he said after meeting with some of the local officials from the 63 barangays. 

Sinarimbo said his office is currently working with the BARMM’s Ministry of Public Works and Highways (MPWH) in preparing the master plan for a modern road network for the 63 villages.

He added the funds will come from the P63.6-B annual block grant for the region this year.

“We are now focused on planning and implementing projects because we are assured of annual block grant unlike in the past where the regional government had to beg for funds from the national government,” he said in the vernacular.

Sinarimbo said building better and modern road networks is part of good governance the BARMM leadership is pushing for the fast development of the region.

The BARMM, which replaced the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi; the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, and Lamitan; and the 63 villages from six towns in North Cotabato province. (EDWIN FERNANDEZ, PNA - COTABATO, MINDANAO EXPOSE')

Central Mindanao airport to operate in 2020: DOTr

OPERATIONAL SOON --- North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco shows to Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Jim Melo the Central Mindanao Airport runway and tarmac in M’lang town after the landowners signed last February 27 the deed of sale for their lands covered by the airport project. The CMA is expected to be fully operational before the end of the year. (PHOTO BY MELCHOR UMPAN – NORTH COTABATO PGO, MINDANAO EXPOSE') 

COTABATO CITY --- Hopes are high that the Central Mindanao Airport (CMA) may start operating before year-end after 15 landowners finalized last February 27 the sale of their properties to the government through the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the provincial government of North Cotabato.

Governor Nancy Catamco and DOTr Assistant Secretary Jim Melo and Registry of Deeds Provincial Head Atty. Ma. Theresa Pescadera witnessed the ceremonial signing and distribution of checks at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan City.

“When you make impossible things happen, it’s more fulfilling,” Catamco said, lauding the landowners for their patience and cooperation.

The governor also thanked the officers and staff members of different line-agencies for their unwavering support to make the CMA project push through with ease.

Melo said that DOTr wants the CMA to be operational as soon as possible and is willing to support the provincial government of Cotabato in all its endeavors.

Teresita Buenaflor, one of the landowners, said the signing of the deed of absolute sale has given hope not only to the people of M’lang, where the mothballed airport is located, but also to all Cotabateños who wish to see the project finally take off.

On February 14, Catamco met with the landowners and conducted an ocular inspection at the airport wherein DOTr representative Engr. Manny Lazam assured that the DOTr is ready to download additional funding for the project when the documents are completed.

The DOTr and the provincial government of North Cotabato are expected to proceed with the perimeter fencing immediately and open the airport before the end of the year.

The mothballed airport will need at least P2.6 billion to rehabilitate and put into operation, said Mindanao Development Authority chairman Emmanuel Piñol early on, citing an assessment from the DOTr. (Edwin Fernandez, PNA - Cotabato, mindanao expose')

Editorial

Bracing virus threat

Two months have passed and issues revolving around corona virus disease, called as Covid-19, continues to hit the headlines as the World Health Organization assessed it to be globally pandemic and  its risk to be “very high.” This, as medical experts are rushing to come out with an antidote or vaccine to halt its world-wide spread and contamination following its outbreak  in China.

        Just last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque faced the nation and made a rather frightening plea: “We discourage people from going to crowded places.” 

What and where are the crowded places? These could be the malls, public markets, offices, schools, churches, public transport terminals and utility vehicles such as buses, recreational centers, and even hospitals. Does this mean for us to be isolated and self-quarantined? Duque said “if it could be pleased,”… meaning as a precaution for we don’t  know what could happen next.

Simply placed, Covid-19 is now a public issue and our government is bracing for the possibility of local transmission even if the country is so far coronavirus-free. The barangay level has also been alerted and is given the responsibility to establish local quarantine facilities in case of eventualities. The barangay government must be ready to respond.

It is to be noted that the virus is now described a potential source of violence because it creates havoc, killing those severely contaminated and putting at bay the mobility of people, including economic activities such as those in tourism industry and infrastructure build-up. When local contamination strikes, mobility is halted and people could be held in confinement until vaccination is ready and available.

The WHO also noted that the toll on Covid-19 has surpassed the past cases of SARS and MERS, the cousins of coronavirus. The organization has called on the nations to apply the most appropriate frontals to contain the virus spread, saying the Philippines is doing well in its anti-virus drive and readiness. Our capability, however, has yet to be largely tested when local transmission makes the break.

Yes folks, readiness against this virus should be inclusive in our disaster preparedness and response program other than natural and man-made calamities. Let us continue to heed on health advisories and be obedient to the norms governing the upkeep of healthy living  and environmental sanitation as we, too, also brace on common ailments and seasonal diseases.

We pray to kill the virus and we pray for our safety and health.