BARMM’s Sulu police force now under PRO-9

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) turned over the Sulu Provincial Police Office (PPO) to their counterparts in Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) on Monday, September 15.

The Supreme Court removed Sulu last year from the core territory of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), following a petition by then-Governor Hadji Abdusakur Tan, Sr. Tan was elected vice governor of Sulu in the May 12, 2025 elections.

PRO-BAR Director Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman told reporters on Tuesday, September 16, that the turnover to PRO-9 officials was conducted during a symbolic ceremony at Camp Police Senior Superintendent Julasirin Kasim in Barangay Asturias, Jolo, the provincial capital.

The turnover was received by PRO-9 Director Brig. Gen. Eleazar Matta in the presence of various provincial representatives. Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan II and top officials from the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame, Quezon City, including Major Gen. Neri Vincent Ignacio and Major Gen. Lex Ephraim Gurat, also witnessed the ceremony.

De Guzman said Matta was accompanied by his deputy for operations, Col. Narciso Paragas, and Col. Elmer Lim, chief of PRO-9’s regional staff.

“I know these officers as efficient and hardworking. Together with the police in Sulu, they can efficiently manage the Sulu PPO,” De Guzman said.

Tan, Sulu’s first-termer governor, vowed to continue supporting the peacekeeping and law-enforcement activities of the Sulu PPO under PRO-9, as he did while it was under PRO-BAR.

Both Tan and his father, now vice governor of Sulu, are recognized for assisting the police and military in clearing Abu Sayyaf presence in the province.

Regional BARMM officials and trade and investment authorities noted that several formerly isolated towns in Sulu, now free of Abu Sayyaf terrorists, are emerging as investment hubs for capital-intensive agricultural projects.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently signed an executive order placing Sulu under Administrative Region 9, following the Supreme Court’s removal of the province from BARMM’s territory.

With Sulu removed, BARMM now covers Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, along with the cities of Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato. The regional capital of BARMM remains Cotabato City, located in Maguindanao del Norte.