By Lilian Mellejor/Philippine News Agency
DAVAO CITY — The Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday signed two joint letter directives updating the Internal Security Operations (ISO) for the upcoming May elections and the campaign against armed groups.
Major Gen. Alfredo Valdez, head of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations -Eastern Mindanao (DIPO-EM), said the JLDs seek to strengthen the cooperation and interoperability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) between Eastmincom and the PNP.
Valdez said the police will take the lead in implementing the security plan for the May elections and other law enforcement-related activities, with the Eastmincom providing the support.
“We are complementing all our efforts,” Valdez said of the government’s campaign against insurgency and terrorism in an interview on the sidelines of the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Center Conference on Friday here.
Lt. Gen Felimon Santos Jr., Eastmincom commander, said the first of the two signed AFP-PNP JLDs will update the existing coordinating mechanism between the two organizations and aims to synchronize and converge their efforts relative to the peace and security of different communities in Eastern Mindanao.
Santos explained the need to update the directives considering there are already many areas that have been cleared of insurgency.
“The collaboration and interoperability of the two organizations are important in order to optimize the government security capability in carrying out the primary mandate of securing the people,” Santos said.
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