BASILAN PROVINCE (August 16, 2025) — Governor Mujiv Hataman and officials of the Basilan Provincial Police Office shall embark on more extensive peacebuilding programs to maintain law and order in the island province, now touted as one of the new investment hubs in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Hataman, who was former regional governor of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and had, subsequently, served as congressional representative of Basilan, was elected provincial governor during the May 12, 2025 elections.

Hataman and Basilan’s provincial police director, Col. Cerrazid Umabong, met on Friday, August 15, and discussed security measures that they can jointly implement, with the help of local executives in the 11 towns and two cities in the province, Lamitan and Isabela, to ensure utmost protection of the local communities from law offenders.

For Hataman, who is chairman of the multi-sector Basilan Provincial Peace and Order Council, peacekeeping and enforcement of state anti-crime regulations should be a shared task for local executives, the police and the military.

All mayors in Basilan, among them Roderick Furigay of Lamitan City, have committed support for Hataman and Umabong’s joint peace and security initiatives.

Umabong and Hataman had agreed to work cohesively, along with mayors and their constituent-barangay officials, in maintaining law and order in Basilan.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, told reporters on Saturday, August 16, that he will help push the efforts of Hataman and Umabong forward.

Photo shows Hataman and Umabong comparing notes, during their meeting on Friday, pertaining to potential security thrusts they intend to implement in Basilan, one of the five provinces in BARMM. (August 16, 2025, Basilan Province, Bangsamoro Region)