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Govt rushes drug search in Ampatuan homes
With just a few hours left before martial law is lifted, military troops in Maguindanao are now rushing to look for a new target – illegal drugs – in addition to armaments within the Ampatuan properties. Lt. Col. Michael Samson, spokesman of the Philippine Army for Maguindanao operations, said they are racing against time to search a compound owned by the Ampatuans in Shariff Aguak where heavy firearms and illegal drugs are said to be stored. "Based on intelligence reports, dito sa compound ay may nakatagong armas at may separate report na umano ay involved sa compound na ito ang drugs. So we are checking on it," said Samson. (Based on intelligence reports, there are weapons hidden in this compound and there’s a separate report that says drugs may also be involved. So we are checking it out.) Assisting the military in looking for illegal narcotics in the two-hectare compound are personnel from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). "Pero so far, negative pa (But we haven't found any yet)," Samson said. No K9 units Their search of the compound would have been made easier had they brought along drug-sniffing K9 dogs. But upon requests from Muslim inhabitants of the compound not to bring in any dogs, authorities were forced to look for drugs by hand. "Parang may violation daw sa religious doctrine nila... Napag-usapan kasi namin ang request nila na i-avoid ng K9 so we gave in to their request para 'wag tayo ma-ireklamo na hindi tayo naging sensitibo sa karapatang may kinalaman sa pagpa-practice ng religion," Samson said. (It seems they claim it violates their religious doctrine. We discussed and gave in to their request to avoid K9 units so that they can’t blame us of being insensitive to their religious rights.) Awaiting further orders The military official said that until they receive orders from their superiors with respect to the lifting of martial law at 9 p.m., soldiers will continue with their search operations in the province. [See: Martial law in Maguindanao to be lifted 9 p.m., Saturday] Maguindanao was placed under martial law last December 4 in an attempt to solve the killing of 57 people in what is now infamously known as the Maguindanao massacre. Under military rule and with the suspension of the privileges of habeas corpus, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police can make warrantless search and arrests. Since last week, joint forces from the military and police have discovered several hidden caches of high-powered firearms and ammunition thought to belong to the powerful Ampatuan clan, members of which are being linked to the Maguindanao carnage. [See: Biggest stockpile of arms found in Andal Sr. house] CVOs too Authorities have also confiscated hidden firearms owned by the armed civilian volunteers and members of the Ampatuans' alleged private army. Lt. Col. Joel Paloma, commander of the 46th Infantry Battalion of the Eastern Mindanao Command, was earlier quoted in a separate radio report as saying that his men unearthed ammunition from an abandoned CVO detachement in Kuloy village, also in Shariff Aguak, as early as Thursday night. As in previous operations, the latest search was based on information from "a concerned citizen," according to Paloma. Included in the military's find were ammunition for heavy firearms like M14, M16, 50-caliber, and an M203 grenade launcher. The ammunition were stored inside boxes and buried more than a meter into the ground. Also found in the diggings were several tripods for M60, 30-cal. and 50-cal. machine guns, as well as blue uniforms commonly worn by members of the civilian volunteer organization (CVO).
