DAVAO CITY – The 34th Infantry Battalion seized 19 high-powered firearms from a lawless armed group in Barangay Lower Panangkalan, Pahamudi town in the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BARMM) on Jan. 20.
Police Lt. Col. Edgardo Batinay, commander of the Army 34th Infantry Battalion, said troops acted on a tip from concerned citizens on the presence of an armed group in Barangay Lower Panangkalan.
Batinay said that armed men fled when soldiers arrived and left behind M203 grenade launchers, M-16 rifles, M-14 rifles, a Garand rifle, a rocket propelled grenade launcher, bullets, and rifle telescopes.
Lt. Col. Rod Orbon, spokesperson of the Army 6th Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Central, said that they verifying reports that the armed men belong to Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Dawlah Islamiyah-Mindanao.
Orbon said that it was fortunate that the raid did not end up in a firefight. Otherwise, some civilians would be caught in a crossfire, he said.
Barangay Lower Panangkalan sits on the periphery of the sprawling Ligawasan Marsh, a known operational territory of armed lawless groups.