Task force created to keep peace and order on Negros Island
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered the creation of a task force to keep peace and order on Negros Island.
Marcos signed on April 3 Administrative Order No. 6, which directed the task force to “prevent the spread and escalation of violence elsewhere in the Philippines and to maintain peace and order in Negros Island, with due regard to the fundamental civil and political rights of the people.”
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Marcos signed the order in light of the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo along with eight other civilians and the wounding of 17 others.
The task force, called “Degamo,” will be chaired by the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and co-chaired by the chiefs of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of National Defense (DND).
The PCO said task force commanders include the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is also tasked with giving emergency relief assistance to the families of the victims, while the Department of Health (DOH) will provide psychological rehabilitation to affected individuals.
Meanwhile, the presidential assistant for the Visayas is ordered to coordinate with the task force “with the aim of enlisting the full support of all stakeholders.”
Under AO No. 6, the task force will have the power to coordinate and rationalize the efforts of concerned government agencies and instrumentalities to “ensure a whole-of-government approach in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of violence in Negros Island.”
It is further tasked with intensifying the campaign against private armed groups and loose firearms, the PCO said.
Authorities have identified two masterminds behind the killing of Degamo: Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who has yet to return to the country, and a certain Marvin Miranda.
Teves earlier denied his involvement in the murder of his political rival.
