BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – No less than President Benigno Aquino III will administer the oath of office to Iloilo governor Arthur Defensor Sr. as the new chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) in Western Visayas.
Provincial Administrator Raul Banias yesterday announced that the governor is flying to Manila to take his oath tomorrow in Malacañang.
Defensor replaced Iloilo City’s Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog to the post.
It was Secretary Manuel Roxas of the Department of Interior and Local Government who confirmed his appointment in July 2014.
The new RPOC chairman vowed to help in the campaign against illegal drugs and insurgency in the region, among other concerns.
The RPOC is tasked to formulate plans and recommend measures which will improve or enhance peace and order and public safety in the region.
It is also mandated to monitor the implementation of peace and order programs and projects at the regional, provincial, city or municipal levels.
RPOC is composed of various regional counterparts of national government agencies such as the Philippine National Police, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and National Bureau of Investigation as well as representatives from the private sector./PN
