By Edwin Fernandez/PNA

KIDAPAWAN CITY – The governor of North Cotabato on Monday lauded the grassroots defenders of Pikit town for performing their duties and maintaining law and order in their respective communities.
Those acknowledged by the governor are members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPATs) in Pikit’s 42 villages “for making its constituents safe.”
Mendoza spoke before BPAT members during the reorientation-seminar on peace and order, drug clearing and detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the Pikit gymnasium.
“I want to thank you all for a job well done and urge you to continue performing your duties in your respective communities,” the governor told some 500 BPAT participants in a vernacular.
Pikit, a first-class municipality of 154,000 people based on the 2015 census, has been rocked by a series of shooting incidents the past months triggered mostly by family feuds.
Mendoza also lauded the village defenders and the local officials of Pikit for actively supporting the peace initiatives and programs of the provincial government.
