Man nabbed with gun in BOL campaign launch

COTABATO CITY--Security forces nabbed a 33-year-old man for bringing a gun at the gathering of thousands of people at the campaign launching of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) here Monday.

Senior Supt. Rolly Octavio, city police director, identified the suspect as Mohaimen Burong Nurol, 33, of Barangay Punod, Tangcal, Lanao del Norte.

Octavio said the suspect was found carrying a .45-caliber pistol concealed in his sling bag when checked by police elements manning the entrance gate of Shariff Kabunsuan Complex, the provisional seat of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in this city, where the activity took place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“When frisked, the suspect admitted possessing the gun,” Octavio told reporters here in an interview Tuesday.

The police official said investigators are still trying to determine if the suspect is a member or just a sympathizer of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Lanao del Sur.

He said charges for violations of 10591 (Comprehensive Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition) and the Omnibus Election Code pertaining to the election gun ban were being brought up against the suspect.

On Monday, an estimated crowd of 100,000 converged at the ARMM compound here to show their support to the BOL ratification.

The event also marked the 45-day campaign period for the new law that seeks to abolish the old ARMM set up and expand the coverage of the new autonomous political entity called Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The BARMM, a result of the decades-long peace negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the national government, proposes to cover the current ARMM areas, including 39 villages in North Cotabato, six municipalities in Lanao del Norte, and the cities of Cotabato and Isabela in Basilan, among others.

A plebiscite is slated on January 29 next year for the BOL ratification in the areas proposed for inclusion. (PNA)