Cotabato City (Philippines), 28 October 2020 - UNODC provided, with support from Japan, personal protective equipment (PPE) to law enforcement personnel in the Bangsamoro. This is part of the commitment to support the normalization process towards peace and security in the region. The project aims to support the regional and national government’s efforts in the technical capacity development of security actors for community policing, preventing and countering violent extremism, and other law enforcement activities. It also supports the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) law enforcement and criminal justice system’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNODC handed over 84,600 masks, 8,460 face shields, and 128 thermal scanners to BARMM Minister of the Interior and Local Government and the Police Regional Director Brigadier General Samuel Rodriguez during the 3rd Meeting of Regional Advisory Council meeting on 22 October 2020 in Cotabato City. These PPEs will be used by 8,460 law enforcement personnel in the Police Regional Office – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) and other agencies including MPOS, NAPOLCOM BARMM, and the Joint Peace and Security Teams (JPSTs).
Minister Sinarimbo chairs the Regional Advisory Council which is a mechanism to provide advice and capacity to the regional police office so that it can align its efforts to the Philippine National Police’s transformation roadmap called PATROL 2030 while fostering local participation and considering local context. Members include representatives from the security sector, Cotabato City government, BARMM Ministry of Health, the academe, civil society, private sector, and the media.
Police personnel are at the forefront of the Philippine Government’s efforts to mitigate the spread and impact of COVID-19 and provide security support in the implementation of health and security measures under a modified Community quarantine (MCQ) status. They are assigned to strategic quarantine control points such as malls, parks, and public markets to ensure public order and safety in crowded areas where the risk of transmission is high. They also assist the Bangsamoro government in the delivery of relief assistance and other basic services to its constituents. The Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) provided by Japan augments the government’s response and helps protect law enforcers in their pandemic response.
BGen Rodriguez expressed his gratitude for receivingon behalf of PRO-BAR the “health equipment to be utilized by my personnel in their tour of duty. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Japanese Government for generously providing us these supplies that will aid our forces in performing their duties as front liners, facing the infamous pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus.”
