Police, Bangsamoro LTO maximize joint law enforcement activities

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The police and the Bangsamoro transportation and communications ministry have fused ranks for a crackdown on private and passenger vehicles with dubious documents and to prevent entry into the autonomous region of stolen units from outside.

Personnel of the Regional Highway Patrol Group, units of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and agents of the Bangsamoro Land Transportation Office had impounded in a series of joint operations in the past 24 months more than 30 four-wheeled vehicles and motorcycles sold by outsiders to unsuspecting buyers in six provinces under their joint jurisdiction.

Radio reports here on Sunday stated that the chief of the police’s RHPU-BAR, Lt. Col. Christian Dela Cruz, and Regional Transportation and Communications Minister Paisalin Pangandaman Tago had also reached a consensus, during a dialogue over the weekend, to  capacitate the employees of the BLTO, as police deputies, for them to have more comprehensive powers in performing their duties.

Tago had told reporters that he and Dela Cruz had talked about the police’s deputation guidelines for personnel of the BLTO operating against private and passenger vehicles without proper registration papers and drivers without licenses.

“Our dialogue was fruitful,” Tago said.

The RHPU-BAR and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are also to cooperate in  the prevention of smuggling of vehicles carnapped from far places into any of BARMM’s Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces.