ROXAS: NO IDEA WHICH GROUPS HOLD GUNS
No rift between military, police forces — General Catapang
Decision to return SAF weapons shows MILF’s desire for peace — Gen. Catapang
AUTHORITIES have yet to pinpoint which groups are holding the remaining weapons and personal belongings of slain police commandos taken from the bloody encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.
“It’s still uncertain which groups are in possession of the (remaining 47) firearms,” Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II told reporters yesterday at the turnover of 16 firearms to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
The firearms were the ones seized by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters following the hours-long gun battle, which happened after members of the PNP-Special Action Force successfully killed Malaysian terrorist Zulkipli bin Hir alias Marwan.
Other firearms may have been captured by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the splinter group of MILF which the policemen also battled.
MILF peace negotiating panel chairperson Mohagher Iqbal said on Wednesday they are still checking if some firearms and personal effects of slain SAF troopers are still in their possession amid reports that its fighters were selling the guns for P1.5 million.
Apart from the high-powered guns, PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director-General Leonardo Espina asked the MILF to surrender Marwan’s trusted aide, Abdul Basit Usman, and its members who killed the SAF men.
Positive gesture
Meanwhile, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said the return of firearms shows that the MILF wants to sustain the gains of peace process.
“Through our collective efforts, we will help claim the peace, the progress, and prosperity for our people,” said Catapang.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles also expressed hope that the public will be able to appreciate MILF’s gesture.
Instrumental in the retrieval of weapons are the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities and the International Monitoring Team.
The GPH CCCH is headed by Brig. Gen. Carlito Galvez with secretariat head Carlos Sol.
The MILF CCCH is headed by Rashid Ladiasan, while the IMT team is led by Malaysian head of mission Maj. Gen. Dato’ Abdul Samad Bin HJ Yaakub and joined by IMT member, Norwegian William Hovland.
Meanwhile, despite differences in their account of the Mamasapano incident Catapang yesterday said there is no rift with their counterparts at the PNP.
“We just want to reiterate that we are (a) band of brothers, (and) we are just doing our job, and there’s nothing personal about this,” Catapang said in Filipino.
He added that the AFP is doing its best to recover other missing firearms and equipment of the fallen SAF men.
And despite their differences in their account of the Mamasapano incident, the AFP chief hopes that the truth will come out once the Board of Inquiry comes out with its findings.