Two elected officials from Basilan and Sulu, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and the new commander of the Philippine Army, Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, met in Metro Manila on Friday, August 8, and agreed to cooperate in peacebuilding activities in the two island provinces.
Sulu Vice Gov. Hadji Abdusakur Tan, Sr. and Basilan Gov. Mujiv Hataman were both partly instrumental in securing, along with their constituent-local officials, the police and military, the surrender of hundreds of Abu Sayyaf terrorists in their respective provinces in recent years.
Hataman was former regional governor of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and had served as congressional representative of Basilan before he was elected provincial governor during the May 12, 2025 elections.
Nafarrete had served as commander of the 6th Infantry Division, which is based in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte and covers six provinces and five cities in Central Mindanao, and subsequently, as chief of the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City before he was designated by Malacañang as Philippine Army’s commanding general.
Nafarrete was installed as Philippine Army commander after predecessor, his classmate in the Philippine Military Academy, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, retired from military service last week.
Hataman said among the security issues and concerns tackled during their meeting with Defense Secretary Teodoro and Gen. Nafarrete were the need to tighten maritime security in the territorial waters of Basilan and Sulu, which now have towns touted as southern Mindanao’s new investment hubs.
Basilan is one of the five provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which also has three cities — Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato. (AUGUST 9, 2025)