CAMP SIONGCO, MAGUINDANAO DEL NORTE (22 JANUARY 2024) — Members of the Bangsamoro Task Force on Ending Local Armed Conflict (BTF-ELAC) convened here on Monday, January 22, for its first consultative meeting for CY 2024.

The meeting was led by Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., who was designated as the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Expanding the membership of the BTF-ELAC

The BTF-ELAC agreed to expand the membership of the multi-sectoral body, which now includes BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim who serves as the co-chair of the task force.

The vice-chairs are now composed of representatives from three key institutions: the BARMM, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police.

Minister of the Interior and Local Government Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba has taken on the position of executive director, a newly-created position.

Several technical working groups and a secretariat were also established to ensure that policies were carefully considered and adopted by the body.

Resolving “Rido”

Upon the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., Galvez emphasized the urgent need to address the root cause of “rido” in the BARMM, which is creating peace and security challenges in the region.

“We need to address with finality the problem of Rido. This is through the enhancement of our collaboration between the security sector, the BARMM, and our local government units,” remarked Galvez.

According to the peace adviser, rido or family disputes most often result from land disputes, local politics, and inherited generations of misunderstanding and stereotyping between two feuding clans or groups.

If left unresolved and continues without proper interventions from authorities, Galvez said the hostilities among the feuding families can escalate and could pose a serious threat to the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process.

Galvez stressed the need to enhance the collaboration between the security sector and local government units, saying, “Ensuring the security of our community is a collective responsibility. All of us have an important role to play.”

“We must be united in addressing the root causes of rido. The coordination and partnership between the security sector and LGUs need to be strengthened to ensure a more holistic and community-driven approach,” he said.

“Our security forces are the guardians of peace. However, for them to be most effective, they must be supported by a network of proactive, engaged, and informed stakeholders. All of them play crucial roles in creating a platform for open dialogue and cooperation. We need to harness the collective strength of these groups and institutions to address the underlying issues that fuel Rido,” Galvez added.

The peace adviser also underscored the urgent need to craft a comprehensive approach to address ridos, which have undermined peace and development efforts in the BARMM.

“All of us play crucial roles in creating a platform for open dialogue and cooperation. We need to harness the collective strength of these groups and institutions to address the underlying issues that fuel rido,” he said.

Galvez also pointed out the importance of intensifying convergence in delivering socio–economic development programs in geographically isolated and depressed areas to address insurgency and other poverty-based issues in the region.

“As we know, poverty, lack of economic opportunity, and instability fuel conflict. It is therefore crucial to uplift the lives of our MILF and MNLF brothers and sisters, and their camps into zones of peace and development,” he added.

Peace and order situation

Meanwhile, Galvez also lauded the major accomplishments of the region’s security sector, which include a 4% decrease in the area’s “crime environment” in the previous year.

“For the crime environment, there is a significant decrease in total crime incidents in Cotabato. Maganda po ‘yung pinakita na performance ng ating local government unit under Mayor Matabalao and the security sector,” reported Police Regional Office of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Regional Director, PBGen. Allan Nobleza during the meeting.

According to Nobleza’s report, the total crime environment in Cotabato City in 2022 went down from 433 to 425, which is a 4.06% reduction compared to 2022 data. Comparing peace and order indicators (PSI) with these data, the crime incidents went down by 7.1% in the city within the same period.

“As we welcome this development, we need to address with finality the problem of rido. This is through the enhancement of our collaboration between the security sector, the BARMM, and our local government units,” remarked Galvez.

Camp transformation initiatives roll out

Various proposals were discussed during the meeting, ranging from community-based conflict resolution mechanisms, to targeted development projects aimed at addressing pressing socio-economic concerns affecting residents.

According to Senior Minister Von Alhaq, who represented Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, the collaboration among different agencies and communities is a shared responsibility in maintaining peace and security in the region.

Galvez also stressed the importance of involving local government units in the decision-making process, recognizing their deeper understanding of the situation on the ground.

“Critical to these efforts is the convergence of different national line agencies and BARMM ministries in the implementation of the development plan for MILF Camps Bader and Omar,” he remarked.

Recently, the Joint Task Forces on Camps Transformation (JTFCT) updated its Camps Transformation Investment Plan which has undergone a series of validations among various local stakeholders.

“The resettlement and housing program is a crucial component of the camp transformation plan. This program is a response to the pressing need for secure and sustainable housing solutions,” Galvez added.

This initiative will primarily benefit decommissioned MILF combatants, as OPAPRU continuously delivers “to establish housing communities that are safe, dignified, resilient, and contribute to social cohesion and economic development.”

On Tuesday, a Master Development Plan to fully transform this former MILF bastion into a zone of peace and development was launched Camp Abubakar in the town of Barira In Maguindanao del Norte.

The 20-year period Master Development Plan, features an initial 234 housing units that will be built in the fiscal year 2024. At least 134 housing units will be funded under the PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) program, while the 100 units will be shouldered by the BARMM.

The said plan also features access roads, telecommunication facilities, potable water sources, agricultural plantation areas, institutional and religious buildings, health facilities, and mercantile areas, among others.

Spanning up to 300 hectares, Camp Abubakar is among the pilot areas that are now reaping the dividends of peace and developmet.

Boosting investments in Polloc FreePort

According to Atty. Sukarno Abbas, executive director of the Bangsamoro Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), the Port’s Master Development eyes to carry out the following: reclaiming the port’s operation zone, port expansion, ports area development, commercial area development, network development, and construct several commercial buildings in line with the Region’s 12 Priority Agenda for 2023-2025.

The Polloc Free Port, which was constructed in 1977 with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), started operations in March 1980.

The port, which is currently being managed by the BARMM Government through the Regional Economic Zone Authority, is being positioned as a leading halal hub being the biggest sea port in the Bangsamoro Region.

“To shore up investments in the BARMM, we need to further improve the infrastructure of the Polloc freeport. Being the lone freeport in the BARMM, let’s maximize it,” Galvez the body.

The Polloc Port has 119 hectares designated for various Freeport facilities and business activities.

It is geographically located at the southern coast of Illana Bay, Parang, Maguindanao. It provides natural protection and defense against seismic occurences, tidal waves or tsunami. Polloc Port caters to both conventional and containerized/unitized cargoes at productivity rates.

Commitment to the peace process

LtGen. William Gonzales, commander of Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), reaffirmed the Marcos administration’s commitment to eliminating local terrorist and communist organizations, as the Armed Forces of the Philippines has intensified its efforts to put an end to local communist armed conflict in the country.

“The guidance given to us by the Commander-in-Chief was that he emphasized two issues and these are, we have to support BARMM. The second is to address the rido issue. These, I think, are very timely and need to be addressed with the horizontal rido or horizontal conflict that we are facing right now, and a big challenge for us,” Gonzales said.

“Sa amin sa security sector, we don’t have the luxury of time, we have to finish our campaign by the end of this year. The more challenging aspect is we have an additional task and that is support the Normalization and Decommissioning Program of the National Government,” he added.

6ID Commander, MGen. Alex Rillera and BAR-Police Regional Office Director, PBGen. Allan Nobleza reaffirmed their commitment to support the interventions to be implemented by BARMM-CORDS for the region.

Both stressed the need to use a whole–of–nation approach in strengthening convergence efforts among line agencies, which include the delivery of much-needed socioeconomic development programs and other poverty-related concerns in remote barangays in the region.

“Before we can have a very good development, progressive rather than development, the greater foundation is peace and order. Therefore, I believe that all things that we have discussed here really contribute to the progress and development of the region especially in the Philippines,” noted Abunawas Maslamama, who represented BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim during the meeting.

For his part, Galvez said the joint meeting conducted was just the first of the many endeavors to be undertaken by BARMM-CORDS and BTF-ELCAC in collaboration with its local counterparts.

Also present during the meeting were Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, Minister of the Interior and Local Government (MILG); Minister of Finance and Budget and Management, Atty. Ubaida Pacasem; Minister of Public and Works, Architect Eduard Guerra; Maguindanao del Norte Governor Abdulraof Macacua and Maguindanao del Sur Vice Governor Nathaniel Midtimbang; Municipal Mayors Lester Sinsuat of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Mibpantao Midtimbang of Guindulungan, Edris Sindatok of Saudi Ampatuan, Hon. Bai Ampatuan of Datu Hoffer; Hon. Sumulong Sultan of Pikit; Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad Matabalao; Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) Commander LtGen. William Gonzales and WestMinCom Deputy Commander, BGen Taharudin Ampatuan; 6th Infantry Division Commander, MGen. Alex Rillera; BAR-Police Regional Office Director, PBGen. Allan Nobleza; Office of the Civil Defense- BARMM Director Joel Mamon; National Intelligence Coordination Agency-BARMM, Director Noel Plaza; and OPAPRU officials led by Presidential Assistant for Bangsamoro Transformation David Diciano, GPH Peace Implementing Panel Chair and Presidential Assistant Cesar Yano, Executive Director for Bangsamoro Special Concerns Jordan Bayam and GPH-JPSC Co-Chair Francisco Ariel Felicidario. ###