Stronger partnership soon between DENR and ARMM seen

COTABATO CITY - Local residents looks forward to stronger partnership now between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).The optimism was triggered by two developments last week, the appointment by President Rodrigo Duterte of former Cotabato City councilor Noel Felongco as assistant secretary of DENR and the confirmation by regional legislators of the earlier designation of Hadji Kahal Kedtag as ARMM’s regional environment and natural resources secretary.Felongco, a human rights lawyer, is a scion of a Christian clan in Central Mindanao.He finished college and, subsequently, graduated from the law school of central Mindanao’s largest Catholic academic institution, the Notre Dame University (NDU) in Cotabato City.Kedtag said he and the rank-and-file personnel of the DENR-ARMM were elated with Malacañang’s enlistment of Felongco as assistant secretary of the department’s central office, now under Secretary Gina Lopez.Residents of Central Mindanao learned of Felongco’s appointment only last Saturday from Facebook posts by friends and relatives. We have Secretary Lopez who is very keen on helping the Bangsamoro people rise from underdevelopment and now we have an assistant DENR secretary who is from Cotabato City, Kedtag said.Twenty of the 24 members of ARMM’s Regional Assembly, touted as Little Congress of the autonomous region, favored Kedtag’s reappointment as DENR-ARMM regional secretary in a session last November 16.Kedtag first served as environment and natural resources secretary of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman from 2013 to June 30, 2016.Hataman was reelected to a second term during the May 9, 2016 synchronized local, national and ARMM elections. He reappointed Kedtag, an ethnic Maguindanaon based in Cotabato City, about one month later.The ARMM law-making body, as a requisite, gave full imprimatur to Kedtag’s reappointment last Nov. 16 without any opposition.Bobby Benito, executive director of the Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission-ARMM, said he and his circle of friends helping push multi-sectoral environmental protection efforts are thankful to Malacañang for having tapped Felongco to help manage the DENR. We share the pride and honor, Benito said.Members of the largest bloc of journalists in Central Mindanao, the Kampilan Press Corps, which covers the peace-building activities of the Army’s 6thInfantry Division, see more bilateral projects between the central office of DENR and the ARMM government taking off soon.Teachers and administrative personnel of NDU, owned by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate congregation, where Mindanao’s top Catholic parochial leader, Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, belong, were as elated and are certain Felongco would not let them down.