CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao -- The military here announced Tuesday they have convinced local government officials in the coastal towns of Lanao del Sur to voluntarily surrender unlicensed guns as part of the military’s loose firearms reduction program, an Army official said.
Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division Civil Military Operations Battalion, said most of the gun owners were local government executives who opted to voluntarily surrender 140 assorted firearms.
“They listened to our appeal to peacefully surrender unlicensed guns and reminded them that Mindanao is still under martial law,” Besana told reporters.
The disarmament program resulted to the collection of high-powered guns that included M16 rifles, shoulder-fired rocket propelled grenades, shot guns, home-made .50 caliber machineguns, Garand rifles and pistols.
The stockpiling of guns, both licensed and unlicensed, had been a tradition among Moro politicians and ordinary citizens to protect themselves from armed families they are in conflict with due to “rido” (clan war).
Besana said the firearms were from officials of the seaside municipalities of Kapatagan, Malabang, Picong and Marogong, all situated east of Lanao del Sur.
He added town mayors and local police collected some of the firearms that they turned over to the 6th and 603rd Infantry Brigades. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
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