Inter-agency southern border security readied

Security in the southern border of the country will be further strengthened as a plan to create the country’s first Inter-Agency Border Security Coordinating Council is now underway.

Bureau of Customs-Port of Davao, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other government agencies recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to form the Inter-Agency Border Security Coordinating Council.

Lawyer Erastus Sandino Austria, district collector of the Port of Davao, said the MOA was a product of the series of inter-agency meetings which the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) coordinated.

The council aims to curb the entry of terrorists as well as prevent illegal activities in its areas of responsibility.

EastMinCom, in a statement, said the martial law that currently in place in Mindanao has driven the AFP to strengthen border security.

“[We are] continuously strengthening the border security to prevent terrorism, violent extremism, and other crime syndicates from entering the country via the southern border,” it said.

Representatives from the regional government agencies also elected the council’s officers during the MOA signing.

EastMinCom, represented by Lt. Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, holds the chairmanship. Representatives from Police Regional Office (PRO) XI, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP XI), Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao (NFEM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) XI, and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) XI were the five elected vice chairpersons.

Other signatories to the MOA are the Philippine Ports Authority-Port Management Office Davao, Philippine Coast Guard, National Bureau of Investigation-Central Mindanao Regional Office, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Region XI.