Gov’t has competition: Armed group also searching for hidden arms

Government security forces have competition. They are not the only ones looking for hidden firearms and ammunition in Maguindanao. Another group is trying to beat authorities to at least one such arms cache, a military official in the province said Tuesday. Lt. Col. Michael Samson, spokesman for Army units in Maguindanao, said members of the 46th Infantry Battalion engaged some 50 armed men in a 20-minute firefight Monday night in Bagong village in Shariff Aguak town. Samson said the troops were sent on patrol to the village to check information about an armed group that was reportedly digging in the area when they were fired upon at around 9 p.m. In the ensuing firefight, Samson said, there were no Army casualties although intelligence reports indicated that one of the armed men was killed and several others wounded. When the troops returned to the site on Tuesday morning, Samson said, they found half-buried weapons protruding from a pit. "Nung umaga, may discovery na may naiwang armas na actually punung-puno ng putik at lupa pa... Siguro ito yung gustong i-recover ng armed group (The next morning, we discovered firearms left behind that were actually crusted with mud and soil… Maybe these were what the armed group wanted to recover)," Samson said in a radio interview Tuesday.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Among the weapons were a 60-mm mortar with stand, seven M60 machine guns, three M14 rifles, three Belgian-made Minimi assault machine guns, two Browning automatic rifles (BAR), an AK-47 assault rifle, and assorted ammunition and bandoleers. Samson said they would subject the firearms to ballistic tests to determine if they were used in the November 23 Ampatuan massacre, where 57 people were brutally killed, including 30 journalists. While refusing to pin the blame on any armed group, Samson said he was sure the attack was not carried out by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). "Huwag na [idamay] iyong MILF kasi supposedly andun yan sa teritoryo lang nila (Let’s not involve the MILF because supposedly they are just staying put in their territory)," Samson said. Asked if the armed group included members of civilian volunteer organizations (CVO) in the area, Samson said: "Possible CVOs.. you can say (that maybe they are) members but I think it's not accurate... Pero hindi naman ganoon [kadali iyon], alam mo yung baka may (But it isn’t easy to conclude that, you know, there might be) some other groups taking advantage." Most members of the CVOs are said to have become private armies of the Ampatuans, who have dominated local politics in Maguindanao since 2001 and several of whose leading members are suspects in the November 23 massacre. – Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV