PEACE CHAIR. Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez as chair of the Regional Peace and Order Council takes his oath before Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director Arnel M. Agabe on March 15, 2023. (Photo courtesy of DILG Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – Local government officials in Eastern Visayas welcomed the appointment of Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez as the new Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) chairman.
Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez, chair of the Regional Development Council and Northern Samar Governor Edwin Ongchuan said the experience of Romualdez as mayor of the regional capital, makes him capable to lead the council and coordinate efforts to achieve lasting peace for the region.
Romualdez, the cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., replaced Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone who chaired RPOC from 2019-2022. This was confirmed through a Department of the Interior and Local Government memorandum dated March 13, 2023.
“We all need each other in the development of the region. That is a very important committee because peace and order is the foundation of all development. Without that there could be no real development,” Gomez said in a statement on Monday.
She said she would soon meet with the city mayor to talk about a possible collaboration that would push economic development in the region.
Ongchuan, for his part, said Romualdez would enable the council to work efficiently with national and local agencies including stakeholders.
“Eastern Visayas is performing well in achieving its target outcomes in maintaining the peace and order in the region, and now with Mayor Alfred’s strong leadership and the synergized efforts of the local government units and regional line agencies, we believe that we can finally attain just and lasting peace,” Ongchuan added.
Romualdez earlier said he would push for a summit with all the stakeholders to review previous policies that address the peace and order and security situation of the region.
“My plan is to touch base with all the stakeholders, all the members of the regional peace and order council, touch base with them so that we can now give an update on the latest situation, also we review the past policies on how effective they were and if they need to be extended or modified,” Romualdez said.
He added that he wanted to visit various local governments to meet with local leaders and to assess the current peace and order situation in their area.
Among the functions of the RPOC include formulating plans and recommending measures. that will improve or enhance peace and order and public safety in their respective areas of responsibility.
The body is also tasked to monitor the implementation of peace and order programs and projects at the provincial, city or municipal levels and the operation of civilian volunteer self-defense organizations and such other counter-insurgency programs and activities.
They are also expected to make periodic assessments of the prevailing peace and order situation in their respective areas of responsibility and submit a report thereon with recommendations to the chairman of the National Peace and Order Council. (PNA)
