‘Seized weapons not from military’

From the Manila Times (Jan 4): ‘Seized weapons not from military’

The firearms seized by the police last year from suspected Mindanao-based gun suppliers did not come from the military, the Philippine Army said on Thursday, as it wrapped up its investigation on the issue of supposed firearms pilferage within the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Lt. Col. Eugenio Osias 4th, spokesman of the Army’s Nueva Ecija-based 7th Infantry Division (ID), said their investigation found the guns and ammunition confiscated from two gun suppliers of Mindanao-based threat groups came from a “commercial source.”

“The 7th ID is done with its investigation. Turns out negative that the guns and ammunition came from us. Based on the results, the guns came from a commercial source,” Osias told reporters.

In December last year, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) arrested a couple in Valenzuela City who allegedly supplied guns to the Abu Sayyaf Group, the Islamic State-inspired Maute group and some politicians based in Mindanao.

The NCRPO said the alleged gunrunners were connected with a retired soldier, prompting police officials to suspect that the arms cache may have come from the military.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered a thorough investigation to determine if the firearms were pilfered.

Osias said the cases containing the firearms were not issued by the military.

“The markings can be fabricated and the case [of the confiscated firearms] is not the official crate of the Army, we only have green boxes,” he said.

“We are sure that there were no issued lot numbers and all of our firearms are complete in our inventory,” Osias added.

https://www.manilatimes.net/seized-weapons-not-from-military/491529/