Maguindanao barangay execs commit to Duterte's security campaigns

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — Barangay officials broke their silence Thursday over local Islamic State-inspired blocs with a unanimous commitment to efforts of President Rodrigo Duterte to nip them from the bud.

The commitment was manifested by thousands of newly-elected barangay officials from across Maguindanao’s two congressional districts after having been sworn to office Thursday in Buluan town.

The event was witnessed by mayors, vice mayors, peace advocacy groups and representatives from the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and the Police Regional Office-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares of PRO-ARMM and Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana of 6th ID told reporters via separate text messages Friday that they were elated with the voluntary gesture of some 4,000 barangay officials and youth leaders who were elected during the May 14 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.

“The police and the military alone cannot address terrorism and stop the circulation of shabu in far-flung areas. We need the help of barangay residents in addressing these problems. We ought to thank the newly-elected barangay and SK officials in Maguindanao for assuring us of support towards that goal,” Mijares said.

The mass oath-taking of the elected community officials, organized by engineer Amina Dalandag, director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government for Maguindanao, and the office of Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, was held at the municipal gymnasium of Buluan in the second district of the province.

There are 508 barangays in Maguindanao province, a component area of ARMM. Maguindanao covers 36 towns divided into two congressional districts.

Barangay officials took turns telling reporters that they will also support the anti-narcotics campaign of Duterte to show solidarity with efforts of the provincial government to make all towns in Maguindanao off limits to syndicates distributing shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride), also known as “poor man’s cocaine.”

Juvenal Azurin, director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-ARMM, said Friday most of their operations in the past 24 months that led to the arrest of large-scale drug traffickers in Maguindanao were actually assisted secretly by vigilant barangay captains.

“Some of them even guided our agents to the hideouts of dealers of shabu,” Azurin said.

Records from Azurin’s office indicated that 109 of Maguindanao’s 508 barangays are now “drug free,” cleared from peddlers and residents hooked to shabu through the cooperation by local government units, the provincial government, the PRO-ARMM and the 6th ID.

“Credit must go to the provincial government, to the mayors and, most importantly, to barangay officials in these towns,” Azurin said.  

He said the PDEA-ARMM is grateful to the newly-elected barangay and SK officials in the province for committing support to Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.

Mangudadatu, now in his third and last term as Maguindanao’s provincial governor, told reporters at the sideline of Thursday’s oath-taking rite that barangay leaders were instrumental in helping officials of 6th ID secure the recent surrender, in batches, of 18 members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The BIFF is using the black Islamic State flag as revolutionary banner.

The 18 reforming BIFF militants, who surrendered in three groups from between April to middle of June this year, are now being ushered into mainstream society via socio-economic and other humanitarian interventions by the office of Mangudadatu and the 6th ID.

“I’m happy that our barangay leaders are now vocal against misguided religious extremists trying to establish communities in the province. They failed to expand their influence over some barangays because leaders there are true Muslims, moderate in their ways and are against terrorism, which is taboo in Islam,” said Mangudadatu.