COTABATO CITY (October 4, 2025, Saturday) —Officials of two Army artillery units had personally assured Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza of their support for her peacebuilding and community-empowerment projects in her province.
Lt. Col. Jason Jayson and Lt. Col. Ronald Vispo, commanding officers of the Army’s 7th and 9th Field Artillery Battalions, respectively, and their subordinate-officers visited Mendoza at the provincial capitol in Kidapawan City on Friday, October 3, and assured her then that they shall cooperate extensively with her provincial peace and security initiatives.
Mendoza is chairperson of the multi-sector Cotabato Provincial Peace and Order Council. She is also the presiding chairwoman of the Regional Development Council 12, which cover four provinces, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Sarangani, and the cities of Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal and General Santos.
Units of the Philippine Army have civil-military operation activities, meant to foster cordiality with the local communities via humanitarian activities that are being implemented with the help of local government units.
Jayson and Vispo had separately told Mendoza that their respective battalions shall help push forward her administration’s community service thrusts.
Mendoza has continuing outreach activities for Muslim, Christian and non-Moro indigenous communities in far-flung areas in different towns in Cotabato that also has 63 predominantly-Moro barangays that originally belonged to different towns under her jurisdiction, but are now under the regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Her office has not stopped extending basic services to residents of the 63 BARMM barangays, now grouped into eight towns created last year via separate enabling measures by the 80-member parliament of the autonomous region, despite being no longer under her jurisdiction.
Officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection Special Rescue Unit in Cotabato also visited Mendoza’s office on Friday to relay to her their appreciation of her administration’s support to their operations in the province.
The BFP officials, led by Fire Senior Inspector Kenneth John Etucas, then representing Fire Superintendent Reginal Legaste, Cotabato’s provincial fire marshall, had also promised to help Mendoza carry out her programs aimed at fostering peace and sustainable development in the culturally-pluralistic communities in Cotabato’s 17 towns and in its capital, Kidapawan City.