Butuan City—Mayor Ferdinand Amante, Jr., took his Oath of Office as the newly-installed Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) Chairman of Caraga Region before DILG Secretary and National Peace and Order Council chairperson Jesse Robredo, during the oath-taking ceremony and RPOC 13’s first regular meeting recently in Almont Hotel’s Inland Resort, this city.

In his acceptance speech, Mayor Amante said that the problem of insurgency will always be there when there is poverty. According to him, when there is no development there will always be insurgency.

He also added that peace is not the absence of war/anger but the presence of cooperative/collaborative efforts from among us to attain it.

“I will accept the challenge in attaining lasting peace and we will work together, reason together as a committee in addressing these concerns,” he said.

After the Oath Taking, the first fegular RPOC 13 meeting presided over by the new RPOC Chairperson transpired where Sec. Robredo called on the Peace and Order Council Committee to use all the legal means that are possible to attain peace and order in Caraga Region.

The DILG Secretary said the Region is identified as one having a high incidence of poverty and rich natural resources which usually become the roots of abuses by local officials and the people.

“Ang susi sa katahimikan ay maibsan ang kahirapan ng mamamayan,” he said.

“Sugpuin ang kahirapan, palakasin ang pamahalaan o ang otoridad na namamahala dito,” he added.

During the meeting, updates on the Peace and Order Situation were given by representatives of the Philippine Army, Philippine National Police, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa) and Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) to apprise the Honorable Secretary and the members of the Council of the developments in their quest of attaining lasting peace in Region XIII. - Mary Christine Anthonette M. Salise

DILG Central News Archive DILG Regional News Archive