BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES

LANAO DEL SUR --- Senator Manny Pacquiao on Saturday urged soldiers in Marawi City to vigorously restore law and order in the area, convinced it can be accomplished even sooner than expected.Pacquiao, an international boxing icon, held a brief meeting with Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, Jr.

LANAO DEL SUR --- The police will prosecute for violation of Article 117 of the Revised Penal Code seven people who seemed crackpots arrested entering Marawi City wearing police and Army uniforms.Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, police director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said Friday that the suspects who are now in their custody shall be charged with usurpation of authority and official functions. They clearly violated the Article 117 of the Revised Penal Code.

MANILA -- As the military continuously engages in fierce battle against the Maute terror group in Marawi City, Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon of Sarangani province urged his Muslim constituents to help sustain the anti-terrorism efforts the provincial government has initiated last year.This is to shield the province from the influence and atrocities by any local terrorist organizations.Solon made the call in his Eidul Fitr message distributed to 256 mosques in the six coastal towns of Sarangani read by respective Imams after the morning Eidul Fitr congregational prayers in Muslim communiti

MAGUINDANAO --- Gunmen on motorcycle shot dead a municipal councilor in an attack Wednesday in Datu Anggal town in Maguindanao.The fatality, Guialuson Guimal Angen, 54, was riding his motorcycle en route to Datu Odin Sinsuat town from Talitay, Maguindanao when two bikers trailing behind overtook, blocked his route and shot him with .45 caliber pistols.Angen, a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Talitay, died on the spot from multiple bullet wounds.Senior Supt.

COTABATO CITY --- Agriculturists training former Abu Sayyaf bandits on modern farming are fascinatingly challenged in helping them return to mainstream society that seemed too impossible before.A group of 84 former Abu Sayyaf bandits from across Basilan, all hardcore violent religious extremists (VREs) who have just pledged allegiance to the Philippine flag, are now studying propagation of rubber trees and hybrid corn to complement their assimilation into the local communities. This teaching experience is something so new to us.

MARAWI CITY – Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have agreed to reset their homecoming to this war-torn city to a later date on persuasion of five cabinet members, opting instead to stage a State-of-Bakwit Address (SOBA) in Iligan City in time for President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) today.Members of the Ranaw Ulama-Leaders Conference, during a dialogue with government officials led by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in Iligan City yesterday, said they will do their symbolic march back to their homes after the President’s SONA and after government authorities have decl

MAGUINDANAO -- Officials are optimistic of more feats in law-enforcement activities in Maguindanao with the extension of the martial law until December 31, 2017.Maguindanao Gov.

COTABATO -– Two young Moros, namely Rasul Alih and Amin Hataman, received awards from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year in Jakarta, Indonesia for feats in their respective fields. The awarding ceremonies were held on July 20 at Sultan Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia during the 22nd ASEAN Youth Day Meeting and the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Youth.Rasul Alih II, an artist and a student, represented Ingat Kapandayan Artists Center that promotes Tausug arts and culture.

ILIGAN CITY– The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has established ‘Internal Task Force Bangon Marawi’ to ensure proper coordination and implementation of programs and projects in Marawi City after the current crisis is over.ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman, through Memorandum Order 444 that he signed on July 5, created the task force following Administrative Order (AO) 3 of President Rodrigo Duterte creating the Task Force Bangon Marawi for recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of Marawi City and other localities in Lanao del Sur.

COTABATO CITY– About 80,000 cloth and disposable diapers have been distributed to lactating mothers as part of the continuing humanitarian assistance to affected residents in Marawi City.The recipients are nursing mothers currently in evacuation centers as well as those staying in their relatives’ houses.