PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte re-appointed Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno as the head of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC).
Moreno will be serving his second term as the RPOC chair.
He was first appointed by former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III as council head from 2013 to 2016.
City Information Officer Maricel Casiño-Rivera said the City Hall welcomed Moreno’s re-appointment and the city mayor said he will continue the agenda the RPOC has set.
It can be recalled that Moreno joined other mayors from all over the country at the Malacañan Palace Wednesday, January 11, upon the invitation of Duterte to clear their name or explain to the chief executive why they are on the so-called narco-list.
In a news report, City Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. has confirmed that Moreno attended a meeting with Duterte.
The appointment order was signed by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary and National Peace and Order Council chairman Ismael Sueno and Duterte.
Moreno’s appointment was based on the provisions of Executive Order 773 of the DILG.
Appointed as RPOC vice chair is Philippine National Police-Northern Mindanao Regional Director Agripino Javier.
In a statement released to the media Friday, Javier said he is up to the challenge as RPOC’s second highest official.
“Having been given that authority, it comes with a great responsibility of keeping the peace and maintaining order in a region considered as the gateway of commerce and industry in Mindanao. It may be a tall order, but given the dedicated partners in the national and local government and other law enforcement agencies, I am sure we will surpass all the challenges that come our way,” Javier said.
Cagayan de Oro City is seen as the country’s next metropolis following the projection made the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) in line with the Philippine Development Plant 2017-2022.
According to Neda, Cagayan de Oro will become a metropolitan center because of projected population growth and its vital role in the region’s commercial activities and as its transshipment hub.