DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno said Thursday the government has quietly taken an array of forceful measures meant to bring to justice all those responsible for the massacre of at least 57 people in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao and at the same time restore peace and order in the province.

Puno said that hours after the heinous crime was uncovered last Monday, the government had immediately created a crisis management committee led by Presidential Adviser for Mindanao Jesus Dureza—on top of the local crisis management panel formed to investigate the incident—to take measures that led, among others, to Thursday morning’s surrender of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay in Maguindanao, to Dureza at the provincial capitol.

The Department of Interior and Local Government urged local government units to include children’s rights as a priority item in their Comprehensive Development Plan.

In a memorandum released by DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno, he said that LGU’s must protect the right of every Filipino child, including the right of survival, development, protection and participation. He also added that the children holds the key to a continued development and growth of the country.

DILG has helped out Local Government Units in 24,093 barangays, 54 provinces, 101 cities and 963 municipalities across the country with its Children Protection Program.

Former Optimical Media Board (OMB) chairman Edu Manzano is now the running mate of presidential aspirant and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro as announced earlier in Shangri_la, Makati and both of them cited Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno in merging the major tandem.

“When I talked to Edu, walang conditions siyang binigay and he said I’m willing to support you all the way, 100 percent,” Teodoro said. “Ang loyalty na ganyan ang katangian ng isang mabuting Pilipino. Ako po ay tuwang tuwa at nagagalak na tinanggap ng ating katambalan ang aking alok sa pamamagitan ni Secretary Puno na maging kandidato sa pagka-bise presidente ng aming partido.”

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronnie V. Puno made an announcement yesterday about the creation of Coordinating Committee on Decentralization (CCD) – a committee that will handle problems and issues concerning the implementation of the government’s decentralization program.

“Decentralization is a key to national and local government development,” Puno said.

The creation of the CCD came after officials and representatives of the participating agencies initialed the final draft of the committee’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in simple ceremony held yesterday at Shangrilla Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

Secretary Ronnie Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday rejected outright a request by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to send a company-size delegation of its members to communicate with the kidnappers of Irish priest Michael Sinnott, saying that the need to send such a large contingent to simply relay a message indicates that they have no control over this group behind the kidnapping.

The secretary said he has relayed his opposition to this proposal to the government’s peace panel headed by Ambassador Rafael Seguis that is in talks with the MILF.