COTABATO CITY — The Peace, Public Order, Safety and Security Committee (PPOSSCom), a sectoral committee under the Bangsamoro Economic Development Council (BEDC) successfully held on Wednesday, April 07 its fourth regular meeting via zoom video teleconference at Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) Conference Hall, Bangsamoro Government Center, this city. Hussein P. Muñoz, Minister of the Ministry of Public Order and Safety (MPOS), Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament Member, and PPOSSCom Chairperson presided the committee meeting together with BPDA’s Research and Development Division Chief Palawan Mamaon who represented the Committee Co-Chair and Director General of the BPDA, Engr. Mohajirin T. Ali.
In a message relayed by Mamaon, Ali recognized the cooperation of the law enforcement agencies with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Government. “I would like to thank the law enforcement agencies and the men-in-uniform for actively cooperating with the Bangsamoro Government in our common endeavor to achieve lasting peace in the BARMM,” Ali stressed.
Ali also recalled that during the administration of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (ARMM) Regional Planning and Development Planning Board (REDPB), the peace and order were not given attention to be one of the sectoral committees under the REDPB.“During ARMM Government, we had only 4 sectoral committees under the REDPB. The social development sector, economic development sector, infrastructure development sector, and development administration sector. The peace and order were not given emphasis,” Ali stated in his message.Furthermore, the meeting aimed to have an update on the peace, public order, safety and security in the region.
On the other hand, the agenda include discussions on the processes and procedures of “Rido” Settlement in Islamic perspective and updates on the result of the resolution organizing a technical working group for the commemoration of Jabidah Massacre every 18th day of March of the calendar year.Minister Muñoz expressed his gratitude and commended all the agencies and the people who took part in the preparation of the Bangsamoro History Month.“Those who were with us during the commemoration of the 53rd Jabidah Massacre in the island of Corregidor, forum on transitional justice and reconciliation at Bay View Hotel in Manila, and peace forum at Las Hermanas in Cotabato City, the event wouldn’t have been successful without your meritorious support especially from the PPOSSCom secretariat and technical working group. Congratulations and once again, thank you,” Munoz stressed.Munoz also said “the commemoration of the Bangsamoro History Month last March was a celebration for the Bangsamoro despite its tragic tails of deaths and losses from different constitution battles be heard for this month. We have a reason to be thankful, it led us to your right to assert for what we have in a certain war whether you are a Bangsamoro, a Christian or an IP living in the region.
It taught us that there are still so much so much to be done that needs cooperation among us to achieve the long-desired peace.”Ebrahim Norodin, Juris Consultant of the Bangsamoro Darul Ifta (BDI), raised issues on Rido Settlement and identified some of its causes.“Pagsisinungaling, pandaraya, away ng lupa, away sa pulitika at maratabat (pride) ay ang ilan sa mga dahilan ng pagkakaroon ng Rido,” Norodin said in his native vernacular (Maguindanaon).The committee has identified solutions in Rido Settlement which include creating a committee to settle the Rido, returning to Islamic teachings/revisiting the Qur’an and Hadith, Islamic education, and amicable settlement with solutions such as blood money, consultation by the leader of the community inviting the committee, meeting with the parties, and involvement of the authority. Further, the committee agreed that the guidelines of Rido Settlement will be provided by the BDI before the end of this month.
Meanwhile, also present during the meeting were representatives from the Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG), Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission (BHRC), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), and 6th Infantry Division (6ID) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). (BPDA-BARMM)