GOVERNANCE/POLITICS

BASILAN --- Residents of villages along stretches of a highway connecting the cities of Isabela and Lamitan can now safely motor through the route at nighttime, illuminated with new streetlights.

In a statement Saturday, the office of Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman said the new 35 streetlights along portions of the highway traversing uphill and downhill sites in Barangay Baluno, Isabela City is a provincial government project.

It is meant to ensure the safety of commuters and motorists passing through the highway after dusk, according to the governor.

COTABATO CITY ---The Maguindanao provincial prosecution office had set a record feat for having prosecuted successfully 12 high-profile crimes, including multiple incestuous rapes, in the past 12 months.

Senior judicial officials here told reporters Thursday the 12 convictions from between August 15, 2018 to August 12, 2019 was something never achieved before by Maguindanao’s PPO since the creation of the province almost five decades ago.

The PPO is led by Rohairah Lao, a Maranaw lawyer who got to its helm only in 2016.

COTABATO CITY  – An official of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Friday assured Unicef national ambassador Gary Valenciano that the neophyte region is supporting all Unicef programs.

Abdullah Cusain, BARMM acting executive secretary welcomed Valenciano who paid a courtesy call to the Office of the Chief Minister here.

“BARMM supports all programs for the benefit of children, especially Moro children,” Cusain told the visibly elated Valenciano.

DAVAO CITY – Vice Mayor Eric Recinto of Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat was elected on Tuesday as Regional Chair of the Vice Mayors' League of the Philippines Region 12 (Soccsksargen).

During the election of VMLP-Soccsksargen chapter in Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City, the group also elected Gen. Santos City Vice Mayor Loreto Ton Acharon as regional vice chairman.

Vice Mayor Ronaldo Pader of Libungan, North Cotabato was elected as VMLP regional secretary general while Vice Mayor Ronnel Saldua Español of Alabel, Sarangani was the VMLP regional treasurer.

COTABATO CITY --- Isabela City in Basilan now has a Freedom of Information Ordinance --- possibly Mindanao’s first --- to ensure good governance via transparency and accountability.

The newcomer Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman said Thursday she is grateful to the Sangguniang Panglunsod for its prompt approval of the measure.

The SP is chaired by first-termer Vice Mayor Kifli Salliman, who was the mayor’s running mate during the May 13, 2019 elections.

KORONADAL CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) spent more than P1 billion for infrastructure projects in the last five years in Central Mindanao, a senior government official reported Monday, as the government is working to extend the World Bank assisted program.

BASILAN --- The province now has a new multi-million training center built by the provincial government to boost its capacity-building efforts for social welfare service stakeholders.

Gov. Jim Salliman said Monday they inaugurated last week the newly-built facility, to be operated by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, or PSWDO.

KORONADAL CITY---Five community volunteer groups of Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 12 have been recognized as country’s development heroes in the recently concluded annual national Bayani Ka! Awards in Butuan City, an agency senior official said Friday.

KORONADAL CITY - Police Master Sergeant Jerry Frugalidad Feo of the Regional Mobile Force, Police Regional Office (PRO) - 12 was among the three police officers who were given recognition and honor as National Awardees for Police Gallantry during a ceremony marking the 53rd Founding Anniversary of National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) at the agency’s central office in EDSA, Quezon City on September 6, 2019.

LAMITAN CITY --- Residents here are optimistic of a fourth Seal of Good Local Governance citation for the city government from the office of Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año.

The city government here received the SGLG awards in 2016, 2017 and 2018 owing to its efficiency in governance, in handling of state funds and in addressing domestic peace and security issues.