COTABATO CITY— Authorities here have heightened security alerts on waterways, even closing the city’s wharves for boats coming in from nearby provinces.
City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi has issued Local Executive Order No. 222, designating specific docking areas for boats entering the city from the sea and by the rivers.
Aniceto Rasalan, secretary to the city mayor, said the directive applies to inboard motorboats within the load capacity limit of four tons which, under maritime law, are regulated by local government units.
In the City Peace and Order Council Meeting on September 20, officials raised concerns that some areas like the city’s Mega Market could be a vulnerable siege target for terrorists, since it is situated on a riverside and has a large presence of people trading daily for food commodities.
They also noted that the conflict zone in nearby Marawi is in the city’s lowest area that is also closest to Lake Lanao, aside from being the center of commerce of that city.
Cotabato, like the rest of Mindanao, is under martial law, and the order prohibits waterway passage within the nightly curfew hours, from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. the following day.
Guiani- Sayadi’s order also closes for motorboat docking the public market’s wharf along the Matampay River here.
Rasalan said the mayor has instead designated two fishing wharves in Barangays Bubong and Tamontaka II for boats coming in from coastal parts of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga del Sur. A third wharf in Barangay Kalanganan II here has been designated for incoming boats from Maguindanao and North Cotabato towns via the Mindanao River and itstributaries.
Guiani-Sayadi’s order also requires motorboat operators to register with the city’s Public Order and Safety Office, which would now regulate their passage through the city’s territorial waters with a strict ledger-based reporting on the date and time of their entry and exit.
The City Public Order and Safety Office, backed by combined police and military units, is empowered by the mayor’s order to check on the proper identification of motorboat crews and passengers, as well as on the propriety of their operational documents, such as registration.
Cotabato City is part of Maguindanao’s First Congressional District, but is separate from the province’s political boundaries and administrative jurisdiction, being a chartered city.
