AFP vows heads will roll over arms cache in Maguindanao

Heads will roll when the military investigates the source of government weapons and ammunition unearthed near the mansion of the Ampatuans in Maguindanao Thursday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vowed.

Military information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. made the promise Friday even as he admitted the possibility of the AFP’s own men selling weapons to private armies like those kept by the Ampatuans and rebel groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). "Isang possibility dito ibinenta ... nangyayari po yan. Hindi authorized yan. That is why we will investigate. Pag may nadiskubre tayong nagkasala rito, we will prosecute them (One possibility is that some soldiers sold the arms to the private army. It happens and it is not authorized. That is why we will investigate it. Once we discover who is behind it, we will not hesitate to prosecute him)," Brawner said in an interview on dzBB radio. “Definitely kung talagang may nagkasala rito 'di dapat palampasin ito. Ito ang one of the worst violations na pwedeng gawin ng sundalo, ang magbenta ng baril at bala (Definitely anyone found liable will be punished. This is one of the worst violations a soldier can make, to sell firearms and ammunition to the enemy)," Brawner added. On Thursday, government troops unearthed a big weapons cache of light artillery and heavy infantry weapons, including commando weapons, explosives, ammunition, and military uniforms in a vacant lot beside the near the Maguindanao mansion of the powerful Ampatuan clan in Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital. [See: Guns, explosives, ammo unearthed near Ampatuan mansion] "I-imbestigahan natin yan. We will have to investigate that. Nangako ang ating chief of staff magiging transparent ang investigation dito. Kung may kailangang parausahang opisyal at sundalo ng AFP, gagawin natin ito (We will investigate this. The Chief of Staff ordered a transparent investigation. If we have to punish officials and men of the AFP found liable for this, so be it)," said Brawner in a separate radio interview. Brawner said the AFP was "surprised" that the items unearthed from the site included weapons from the government’s armory. Weapons cache Brawner admitted the military supplies ammunition to civilian volunteer organization (CVO) members who are deputized as force multipliers to fight off rebel and threat groups. "Bilang yan (We account for the ammunition)," he said.
But he noted the AFP issued only Garand rifles, Carbines and M-14 rifles to CVO members, some of whom had been linked to the November 23 massacre that left at least 57 people, including 30 journalists, dead. Some of the shells recovered from the massacre site indicated M-16 rifles were used, he said. Col. Leo Ferrer, new commander of the Army’s 601st Brigade who replaced Col. Medardo Geslani, said it was likely that the items unearthed in Poblacion Tres, Sharif Aguak belonged to the perpetrators of the grisly mass slaughter on November 23. "We believe that these were used during the massacre," Ferrer said, adding that the discovery of the weapons cache could point to the perpetrators of the crime. - RSJ, JHU, GMANews.TV