KORONADAL CITY, 08 June 2020 – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) headed by Lt. Gen. Cirilito E. Sobejana dispatched the officers comprising its top leadership to be oriented on the latest socioeconomic and development trends in Region XII. The activity dubbed as vedette was the gathering of information from the regions, with the aim of validating the effectiveness of the Command’s governance strategy contribution to economic growth within its area of responsibility (AOR); and, cementing harmonious collaboration with development partners and stakeholders.  The Command’s initiative was an offshoot of its desire to be ‘Fully Mission Capable by 2028’.  The AOR of the AFP WestMinCom includes the SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII) wherein about 55 percent or more than half of the total land area is under its command. These areas are located in the first and third congressional districts of Cotabato Province and almost the entire Sultan Kudarat Province except the municipality of Columbio. The rest of Region XII is under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Mindanao Command.

NEDA XII, headed by Regional Director Teresita Socorro C. Ramos, was more than honored in providing the AFP team with a comprehensive briefing, via online teleconferencing platform, on the socioeconomic trends and the over-all development situation obtaining in the region, including bits of information on the effects COVID-19 pandemic.

NEDA XII lined up the presentations to complement the overall performance of the WestMinCom Unified Command, particularly those that would provide substantive inputs to the AFP’s Transformation Roadmap. The ultimate objective of the roadmap is to raise the standard of governance in the pursuit of the AFP’s mandate which is to “protect the people and secure the sovereignty of the state and the integrity of the national territory”, while giving due recognition to the initiatives and contributions of its units and other allied forces who were tasked to safeguard the peace and order condition of the communities in the region.

The presentations included: the Regional Development Plan (RDP) 2017-2022 Midterm Update and the Regional Economy Restart Plan (RERP) wherein peace and security concerns have been integrated and are considered critical components because these are foundational or the bedrock strategies; the current socio-economic condition of Region XII; major ongoing projects; and; a summary of proposed programs and projects (PAPs) implemented under Executive Order 70 series of 2018 or Whole-of-Nation approach to Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC). In her closing message, RD Ramos assured the AFP Team that NEDA XII will always be supportive of their endeavors and expressed that the vedette is just the first of future engagements between NEDA XII and AFP WestMinCom. She also emphasized that given the interdependence of both institutions’ primary functions towards peace and development, it is imperative that NEDA and AFP continue to collaborate to attain inclusive economic growth towards sustainable peace in the region and ensuring that no one is left behind.   (Romeo C. Nebrija, NEDA XII-PFPD).