COTABATO CITY – The Peace, Public Order, Safety and Security Committee (PPOSSCom) approved six resolutions during its second regular meeting for 2024, held on Monday, May 27. The meeting, presided over by Ministry of Public Order and Safety (MPOS) Director General Atty. Al Rashid Balt, took place at BPDA Conference Hall 2, Bangsamoro Government Center, Cotabato City.
The resolutions adopted by the committee include the Bangsamoro Development Report (BDR) 2023 of the 2nd Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP) 2023-2028, the PPOSSCom’s Result Matrices (RM) of the 2nd BDP 2023-2028, the support on the construction of municipal polic stations in each of the newly created municipalities in the Special Geographic Area (SGA), the support to the construction of a female jail or dormitory facility for persons deprived of liberty in Cotabato City, endorsement of the list of proposed programs and projects of the Police Regional Office – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) to the Bangsamoro Economic and Development Council (BEDC) for inclusion in the Philippine National Police (PNP) budget proposal for FY 2025, and. endorsement to the BEDC for the proposed inclusion of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA-BARMM) as member of the PPOSSCom.
During the meeting, the draft BDR 2023, particularly the sixth chapter, was presented. This chapter highlights ongoing efforts to monitor and evaluate the progress of development initiatives in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The BDR aligns with the guidelines issued by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for preparing the Philippine Development Report (PDR) and Regional Development Report (RDR) 2023, serving as critical tools for assessing the implementation of development plans.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP-BARMM) raised concerns about the dilapidated buildings for female prisoners. JSupt Emerson P. Amandy emphasized the need for funds to construct a female dormitory at Cotabato City Jail to enhance safety and security measures for female inmates. This proposal aligns with broader objectives to improve facilities across district jails in the BARMM and implement laws governing provincial jail management.
Meanwhile, the inclusion of NICA-BARMM as member of the committee signals a concerted effort to bolster intelligence gathering and coordination mechanisms with regards to peace, public order, safety, and security within the region.
PRO-BAR’s Chief Planning Officer, PCol Junival Ngolab, presented issues and concerns in SGA, emphasizing the need for strategic security measures in areas characterized by peace but marked by unpredictability in terms of internal security.
The meeting was attended by representatives from member ministries, offices, and agencies, including MPOS, MILG, BWC, PDEA-BARMM, Bureau of Immigration – Cotabato District Office, WESTMINCOM, BFP-BARMM, BJMP-BARMM, NAPOLCOM-BARMM, and a guest observer from NICA-BARMM. (𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖 𝙇𝙖𝙤 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘽𝙖𝙞 𝙎𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙝 𝘽𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜 / 𝘽𝙋𝘿𝘼-𝘽𝘼𝙍𝙈𝙈)