By Dominic I. Sanchez
ZAMBOANGA CITY – With the goal of promoting
peace and order and reducing criminalities in the city, local stakeholders met
over the weekend (February 13-14) to come up with a strategic communications
and advocacy plan at a local hotel here.
The Strategic Communications Planning Workshop for
Zamboanga City’s Public Safety Plan, an initiative by the United States Agency
for International Development – Enhancing Governance Accountability and
Engagement (USAID-ENGAGE) in partnership with the City Public Information
Office (CPIO) was participated in by representatives from the local police
office, military, national government agencies, civil society organizations,
and the members of the Zamboanga Press Club.
According to Jules Benitez, Municipal and Community
Engagement Officer for Engage, the output of the workshop is to “come up with a
strategic communications and advocacy plan that aims to promote participation
among the different sectors for enhanced public safety and reduced crime
incidents.”
“This is actually the first time that we conducted such a
workshop, but we are hoping that this group will be sustained to for the
improvement of public safety and peace and order in the communities,” Benitez
explained.
Dr. Elmeir Apolinario, assistant city administrator, on
behalf of Mayor Beng Climaco-Salazar said that “issues relative to peace and
order currently confront the city, considering the recent spate of events
here.”
On the other hand, Col. Angelito Casimiro, city police
director confirmed that threats from different groups are indeed real, however,
said groups are being closely monitored to avert any possible eventualities.
“Community involvement through force multipliers is really a big hand, since
there are just a handful of us policemen,” Casimiro emphasized.
Among the modules in the workshop include a stakeholder
analysis, message development, and planning for the convergence of the agencies
or groups that the participants represent in crafting the communications and
advocacy action plan.
Apolinario expressed optimism that the public safety
communication plan will be instrumental in enabling the different stakeholders
making up the communities and the city to share responsibilities in maintaining
the peace. “We hope that the workshop outputs will indeed help us address the
security issues facing the city.”
