Manila: The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) announced that all but one of the 83 local government units (LGUs) passed the functionality audit of the local peace and order council (POC).

According to Philippine News Agency, DILG regional director Araceli San Jose highlighted that this outcome is a positive sign of the increasing commitment of local government units to the administration's call for promoting positive peace. The recent audit results, released in the first week of April, revealed that 82 LGUs passed in 2024, showing an improvement compared to the 75 that passed in 2023.

The POC performance audit evaluates LGUs based on functionality and development indicators, which include the conduct of regular meetings, the quality of policies, plans, and budget, and innovative practices. The audit also assesses efforts to address criminality, ensure public safety, promote gender sensitivity, and encourage active citizen participation in peacekeeping efforts. LGUs are rated as high, moderate, or low in functionality.

Of the 82 LGUs that passed, only 65, or 79.2 percent, were found to have highly functional POCs. San Jose emphasized the importance of going beyond the minimum requirements and encouraged LGUs to further enhance their POC operations to ensure more peaceful and orderly communities.

The formation of POCs is mandated by Executive Order 773-2009, aimed at fostering stronger collaboration between LGUs, law enforcement agencies, and the community to combat criminality, illegal drugs, insurgency, and violent extremism. San Jose assured that DILG-CAR will continue to provide necessary technical assistance to LGUs to help them comply with the indicators, ultimately contributing to public safety.