PPOC to assess 'state of emergency'

By EDD K. USMAN

With the state of emergency (SOE) in Maguindanao now over seven months old, the new leadership of the province led by Gov. Datu Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu will convene for the first time his Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) next week to assess the security situation, then from there either recommend the SOE for lifting or retention.

OIC-governor Datu Gani Biruar passed the reins of the province to Mangudadatu on June 30. Vice Governor Datu Ismael "Dustin" Mastura also took his oath.

Erstwhile President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared the SOE covering the province, Sultan Kudarat province and Cotabato City a day after the infamous Nov. 23, 2009 massacre in Sitio Salay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao, where at least 57 people were killed.

Mindanews.com, which covered the inauguration of the new governor and the new vice governor in Buluan, the hometown of the Mangudadatu clan, said the provincial chief executive did not give a specific date for the PPOC meeting.

Every province has its own peace and order council to maintain peace and order, resolve and prevent violence arising from family feuds as well as address other pressing concerns.

Mrs. Arroyo's administration did not lift the SOE, leaving it to her successor, President Benigno C. Aquino III to decide on it.

Former Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza told journalists covering Malacañang that the Departments of National Defense and Interior and Local Government recommended the SOE's retention.

"There is still violence, threats to lives and property (in these areas). Let the next administration study the possibility of lifting the state of emergency in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City," he said. The former president also declared martial law in Maguindanao on Dec. 4 through Proclamation 1959, which she lifted eight days later.

In his inaugural address Mangudadatu made clear of his intention to serve his constituents. "We are not your masters but your servants," the governor said.