THE PRESENT peace and order situation in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) will be the main focus of the second quarter meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) in Ifugao province this month.
This was bared by RPOC chairman and Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan during the weekly 'Ugnayang Panlunsod' press briefing.
"Our assessment in our present peace and order in the region is for us to continue the fight against terrorism which is very important. If we would recall the report of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency allegedly stating the spread of 'ISIS' in the different parts of the country. If they are able to recruit local partners then they will have the opportunity to conduct terroristic activities," Domogan stressed.
Domogan have earlier required barangay officials to conduct profiling activities of new personalities and foreigners and for the village chiefs to submit the census particularly the number of foreign students in their area, including Moslems who are studying in the different Madrasas in the city.
The RPOC chairman reiterated the region's continuous fight against illegal drugs with focus on the marijuana plantation which continues to prosper in some areas in Benguet, Ifugao and Kalinga.
"The role of each and every local government unit is to really ensure that our fight against radicalism and terrorism, illegal drugs and other crimes are sustained. In the City of Baguio, it is fortunate the crime volume here continuous to decrease, but the bulk of the crime volume in Baguio is due to traffic violations which shows the lack of discipline by the violators," Domogan said.
Domogan encouraged members coming from the left leaning organizations in the region to join the normal fold of society.
Baguio City which remains to be one of the peaceful cities in the Asian region ranking at number six have been invited by the Makati Business Club to present the data in terms of peace and order initiatives.
Domogan added regional development initiatives will also be tackled during the meeting to be updated on various projects in the region which seeks to improve the economy of the six provinces and two cities of the Cordillera.