COTABATO CITY -- The military’s campaign against loose firearms in its area of assignment continues to gain support from local leaders, the latest of which came from the incoming Maguindanao governor who convinced residents to yield their unlicensed guns.
Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the 6th Infantry Division (6ID), lauded the efforts of Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu, mayor of Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao and incoming provincial governor, who personally handed over 27 assorted firearms from civilians in the municipality on Saturday.
Among the firearms turned over were one 60-mm mortar launcher with one projectile ammunition, 14 pieces 12-gauge shotguns, two .50-caliber sniper rifles, two M-79 grenade launchers, one Uzi machine pistol, one Thompson submachine gun, one Carbine rifle, two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, two Ingram machine pistols, one M203 tube launcher and assorted magazines.
Sangki-Mangudadatu called on other local executives to take part in the campaign against loose firearms.
“This is just a small note to extend my support in all your undertakings to ensure a peaceful community,” she said to military officials during her speech at the town’s session hall.
Accepting the firearms were Army Col. Efren Baluyot, 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade chief, and Lt. Col. Alvin Iyog, the commander of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion.
Both Baluyot and Iyog vowed to sustain the government’s campaign against loose firearms in order to achieve peace and development in the area.
To date, about 3,000 unlicensed guns have been turned over to the military in the 6ID’s area of responsibility since the campaign started in 2017 in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, part of North Cotabato, and part of Lanao del Sur. (PNA)