Military, police enhance cooperation against lawless groups in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The military and police have come up with an improved mechanism for effective coordination in addressing lawless elements in the southern island of Mindanao, a senior official said today.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, government chief negotiator in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said that the mechanism is contained in the newly Revised Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police (AFP-PNP) Operational Guidelines for the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG).

The Revised Guidelines aim to advance coordination efforts among the government law enforcement agencies, namely the PNP, the AFP, and the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) which is supervised by the government negotiating panel.

"This is a mechanism whereby we can effectively coordinate, not sacrifice, the security imperatives that need to be met in order to interdict criminal groups, while upholding the primacy of the peace process," Ferrer said.

AHJAG's mandate is to coordinate and monitor between and among the AFP, PNP, and MILF to ensure that law enforcement operations against criminal elements within MILF areas are effectively conducted without jeopardizing the ceasefire between the government and the MILF.

Established in 2002, the AHJAG was activated in January 2005. In the 35th Formal Exploratory Talks between Manila and the MILF last January, the Parties renewed for another year the AHJAG's Terms of Reference in recognition of its important role.