Maguindanao Norte town execs surrender 36 guns, explosives

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15, 2023): Maguindanao Norte town execs surrender 36 guns, explosives (By Edwin Fernandez)

LOOSE FIREARMS. Military and police personnel document the 36 assorted high-powered guns and explosives surrendered by civilians in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on Friday (July 15, 2023). The firearms, which included a .50-caliber machinegun, were turned over to authorities by civilians in the town’s 34 villages. (Photo courtesy of 6ID)

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao Norte – Local officials of Datu Odin Sinsuat (DOS) town in Maguindanao Norte surrendered 36 assorted high-powered firearms to the military in support of the government’s campaign against loose firearms.

In a statement Saturday, DOS Mayor Lester Sinsuat said the firearms came from residents of the town’s 34 villages.

“We are fully supporting the government’s campaign against loose firearms,” the mayor said.

Sinsuat and other town officials turned over the loose firearms to Lt. Col. Tristram Tolentino, the Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion (IB), based in the area on Friday.

On the same day, Tolentino presented the firearms to Col. Nasser Lidasan, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) deputy commander, and Col. James Gulmatico, the deputy director for operation of the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The surrendered firearms included a .50-caliber machine gun, a .50-caliber sniper rifle, a Garand rifle, nine M14 rifles, five M16 rifles, two 12-gauge shotguns, eight M79 grenade launchers, five 9mm Uzi submachine guns, a .22-caliber rifle, a .38-caliber revolver, and two homemade guns.

Four explosives, comprising two rocket-propelled grenades and two 40mm rifle grenades, were also surrendered.

Maj. Gen. Alex S. Rillera, Army’s 6ID commander, lauded the DOS officials for their initiative.

"Every firearm that we collect from unauthorized persons is equivalent to saving the life of innocent civilians in DOS town,” Rillera, also the commander of the Joint Task Force Central, said in a separate statement.

Also on Friday, the 6ID announced that troopers from the 40th IB discovered a lair of a local terrorist group in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur with running trenches and abandoned war materials.

Rillera said the seized war materials included improvised explosive device components, an M16 rifle magazine assembly with 20 live ammunition, a bandolier, and a chest rig tactical gear.

Also recovered were assorted personal belongings, construction materials, and cooking utensils.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1205686