JOLO, Sulu – Mayor Hussin U. Amin has created Task Force Martabbat to address the issue of violence against women and abduction cases which have alarmed the local residents of this capital town.

Amin designated Jolo Councilors John S. Schuck III as chairman and Farouk Omar with Ret. Col. Javier Alfad, as co-chairmen of the task force which he created to curb out violence against women in this town.

The mayor said the local government units (LGUs), as mandated by law, should enforce the provisions of Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act of 2004 (AVAWC).

It should integrate VAWC issues in their strategy and program formulations and implement services for the prevention and elimination of VAWC and protection of VAWC victim-survivors, he said.

Martabbat which is a Tausug word meaning honor is tasked to protect women against violence and rape.

The other members who compose the task force include Councilor Luis Go Jr., Sabri Asri, Lanni Lukman-Tulawie, three from the civil society, two members from the religious sector and one from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Women’s organizations – Muslim Women’s Peace Advocates, Bansag Babai Incorporated, Murid, Bangsa Moro Women, DSWD and other line agency representatives met with Hja. Nurhatta Salahudin, the women’s sector representative in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Sulu, to discuss the reported rape case of a student of Sulu State College.