Sulu village chief surrenders more firearms, ammunition

MORE firearms have been turned over to the military by a

(village) chairman in Pata, Sulu, on Saturday morning amid a campaign against illegal possession of firearms in the province, the Philippine Marine Corps reported on Sunday.

Cpt. Rowena Dalmacio, Marines spokeswoman, said Barley Sahid of Kiput village in Pata surrendered the firearms and ammunition owned by five residents of his village to the Marine Ready Force in Sulu on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

Turned over to authorities were five M16 rifles with five magazines and 104 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition and two M1 Garrand rifles with four clips and 29 rounds of ammunition, Dalmacio added.

The 31st Marine Company received the firearms for turnover to the Marine Ready Force headquarters in Sulu.

“The series of surrenders of ASG [ Abu Sayyaf Group] and firearms was due to the joint efforts of the members of the local government units and the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Sulu to win and maintain the peace in the area,” Dalmacio said in a statement.

Last week, Joint Task Force Sulu reported that local officials of Pata, including its municipal mayor, surrendered heavy firearms and mortars to the military.

According to Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, the military launched the operations against loose firearms on a tipoff by an Abu Sayyaf surrenderer about an arm cache in Pisak Pisak village in Pata.