File photo of BARMM regional headquarters
ILIGAN CITY—Top officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the Philippine National Police have vowed to strengthen their coordination in conducting law enforcement operations in the region.
A statement from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru), said the meeting took place in Malacanang on Tuesday and included BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Abdulraof Macacua, PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., Special Assistant to the President Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo Jr. and Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez. Jr.Protest
It was initiated by Lagdameo “in compliance with the instruction of the President to get the BARMM leadership involved in the maintenance of peace and order” in the region alongside sustaining and protecting the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process.
The meeting came as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) protested the killing of its seven members in a raid in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur, in a joint police and military raid on a suspected lair of Islamic State-linked terrorists.
It also came amid the persistent calls by five provincial governors in the BARMM for the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), to be immediately decommissioned before holding the village and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in the region.
Ebrahim is also chair of the MILF’s central committee while Macacua heads the BIAF.
According to Galvez, the parties have agreed to closely work together to ensure peace and stability in the region.
As an offshoot of Tuesday’s meeting, Galvez said there would be a series of command conferences on the ground to brief the military and police commanders, especially those under the Western Mindanao Command and the BARMM regional police office, “to make sure that all parties are on the same page regarding law enforcement operations and other security coordination.”
During the meeting, Ebrahim vowed to support the national government in the fight against criminality in the region, upholding the peace mechanisms between the government and the MILF when these involve people who live in their strongholds to avoid unnecessary provocations.
Under the parties’ ceasefire accord, law enforcement operations in MILF strongholds must be coordinated through the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group or Ahjag.
—WITH A REPORT FROM BONG SARMIENTO
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