Blueprint for Northern Mindanao’s sustainable peace future launched

Northern Mindanao marked another milestone on the road to a just and launching peace with the launching of the Regional Peacebuilding and Development Framework and Agenda (RPBDFA) last March 13, 2019, at Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro City.
    
The RPBDFA will serve as a proactive guide in addressing the peace and development issues, especially in Northern Mindanao. 
    
This is a vital reference to unify understanding, synchronize efforts and consolidate resources in the planning and in its implementation in conflict-affected communities.
    
The RPBDFA would utilize peacekeeping tools by primary users and stakeholders identified during the Results Based Monitoring and Evaluation (RBME) conducted last February.
    
“Peace is an entitlement of the people,” said Cagayan de Oro City Mayor S. Oscar Moreno, who sits as the current chair of RPOC Region 10. 
    
Moreno said Cagayan de Oro City’s involvement in the project is only one among many interventions the city is undertaking to maintain peace and order and secure the city’s constituents from internal and external threats to their personal safety and security.
    
Statistics from the Police Regional Office Region 10 (PRO-10) show total crime volume in the second quarter of 2018 decreased year-on-year by 39 percent to 3,576 cases compared with the second quarter of 2017 with declines recorded for all types of crimes.  
    
Most notable decreases in crimes against person were noted in physical injuries (40.5%) and homicide (33.3%), while crimes against property marked declines for theft (71.0%) and robbery (65.2%). 
    
Non-index crimes also decreased by 33 percent to 2,736 cases for the same period.
    
Region wide, the average monthly crime rate (AMCR) per 100,000 population decreased by 16.4 percentage points.  Across police offices, steepest declines were recorded in Cagayan de Oro City (48.7 percentage points), and Misamis Oriental (24.3 percentage points).  
    
Meanwhile, crime solution efficiency in the reference quarter improved to 62 percent from 51 percent in the same period last year.
    
The decline in criminality is attributed to the crime prevention efforts of the police with the cooperation of the community, particularly in sustaining efforts to keep the streets safe and crime free.  This has earned the Philippine National Police – Regional Office X (PRO-X) the commendation as the top regional office in the country in terms of crime reduction for the first half of the 2018.
    
“The maintenance of peace and order is not the sole responsibility of the police and military,” said DILG Undersecretary Marivel C. Sacendoncillo in her keynote speech during the launching program. “Peace can only be attained and maintained with the involvement of all stakeholders, especially the general public.”
    
The project is a joint undertaking of the Regional Peace and Order Council Region 10, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Capitol University Research and Extension Office. (RMB)