Marcos directed agencies to make Mindanao peaceful — PAOCC

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. directed government agencies to cooperate with each other with the goal of making Mindanao peaceful, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said Friday.

Cruz issued the remark when asked about the reaction of Marcos and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin over the arrest of Myrna Mabanza, an alleged financier of Al-Qaeda and a supporter of the Islamic State, in Indanan, Sulu. 

“Sinabi niya na na— let’s join hand in hand para, to make Mindanao peaceful. And this is one move that showcases how really the importance of cooperation among agencies,” Cruz said in a press briefing. 

(He said that we should join hands to make Mindanao peaceful. And this is one move that showcases… the importance of cooperation among agencies.)

Cruz also said that Bersamin was “happy” with the arrest.

“It shows here ‘yung full cooperation, ‘yung collaboration and cooperation of all the agencies na nandito no. Sabi niya that really defines success sa mga future endeavors ng government na ito,” he said.

[This shows the full cooperation, the collaboration and cooperation of all the agencies present. He said that this defines the success of the government’s future endeavors.]

“So sabi niya, gawin natin ito as a template for all the operations na gagawin natin na— which are high impact. Yung mararamdan ng tao at ‘yung makakagaan para sa gobyernong ito. So yun ang sinabi ni ES sa akin,” he later added.

(He said this should be the template for all the operations that we will do, which are high impact. The operations that will be felt by the people and will help the government. That’s what ES told me.)

According to authorities, Mabanza was supposedly involved in the transfer of $107,000 to the then ISIS-Philippines leader Isnilon Hapilon in 2016.

Earlier, government officials said the funds were used in the Marawi Siege.

Mabanza and two others are facing five counts of violation of the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012 and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 before the Regional Trial Court of Zamboanga City. —VAL, GMA Integrated News