5 MILF men detained for illegal possession of firearms
DATU PIANG, Maguindanao del Sur (PNA) – Authorities here disarmed and detained five members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for possession of unlicensed firearms on Thursday, June 22.
“We saw men with firearms,” Police Lt. Col. Armando Liwan, municipal police chief, told reporters in an interview on Friday, June 23.
When asked for documents legalizing their possession of firearms, Liwan said the five men on board a pickup truck said they have none and that they were MILF members.
He added that the MILF members claimed they were told at past noon on Thursday to report to the house of Mayor Solaiman Sandigan in adjacent Datu Salibo town who maintains a house in this area.
Under the Government of the Philippines (GPH)-MILF ceasefire agreement, MILF movement should be coordinated with law enforcers via a peace mechanism to prevent misencounters and misunderstandings.
According to Liwan, the MILF men did not resist arrest. They were identified as Mohammad Abbas Gundalangan Kudanding, an MILF field commander, and his followers Bhadz Salik, Norhamin Nasa, Abdullazis Kendatun, and Ali Buday.
Troops from the Army 6th Infantry Battalion seized an M4 Bushmaster rifle, an M16 rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, and ammunition from the group.
Charges are being prepared against the MILF members, Liwan said.