TOP government and military officials gathered on Thursday, January 30, in a public consultation on the Proposed Memorandum Circular on Maritime Safety and Security Requirements in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.
The public consultation was initiated by the Provincial Government of Tawi-Tawi in partnership with the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Customs to ensure safety and security of Tawi-Tawi’s maritime domain and to further develop and protect its economic potential on trade and industry.
Present during the public consultation were Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief; Admiral Joel Garcia, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant; Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero; other top officials of Westmincom and PCG; the local chief executives of Tawi-Tawi; and representatives from the trading and fishing industries.
Garcia, Guerrero, and Sobejana acknowledged Tawi-Tawi as the most peaceful island in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm).
Guerrero expressed his full support to the traders as well as with the LGU’s to attain the region’s goal of having a progressive community.
“I attribute all our significant accomplishments and the sustained peace in Tawi-Tawi to the concerted efforts of our stakeholders,” Sobejana said.
He added that peace is best achieved not by war, but by operations other than war. (SunStar Zamboanga)