Lawyer Erastus Sandino B. Austria, district collector of the Bureau of Customs-Port of Davao joined on September 15 other government officials in signing a memorandum of agreement (MOA) creating the country’s first Inter-Agency Border Security Coordinating Council.
The MOA was a product of the series of inter-agency meetings which the Eastern-Mindanao Command (East-Min Com) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) coordinated.
The council hopes to curb the entry of terrorism as well as prevent illegal activities in its area of responsibility. According to a press statement by the East-Min Com, the Martial Law currently in place 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,” the press statement reads.
After the signing of the MOA, representatives from the regional government agencies elected the council’s officers.
East-Min Com, 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 XI. | BOC-PR
