Police: Mangudadatu brother held for excess firearms, aides

A member of the Mangudadatu clan may face charges of violating the Commission on Elections' gun ban after yielding several high-powered firearms and more than the allowed number of bodyguards following a checkpoint operation in Davao del Sur. In a text message on Saturday, Sr. Supt. Ronald dela Rosa of the Davao del Sur Provincial Police Office said that the convoy of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) assemblyman Khadafeh Mangudadatu, brother of Buluan vice mayor Ismail ‘Toto’ Mangudadatu, was stopped at a checkpoint in Matanao town. Digos City police found several high-powered firearms including M-16 rifles, and 9-mm and cal-.45 pistols inside the two-vehicle convoy. Police claimed the convoy did not stop at their checkpoint, prompting them to give chase. Initial police investigation also showed the police found the assemblyman had six security escorts, only two of whom had the necessary documents. The six included four from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and two from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The Comelec allows a maximum of only two uniformed security escorts and a maximum of two private security personnel. Vice Mayor Mangudadatu, who is running for Maguindanao governor in May, lost his wife Genalyn as well as two sisters and other relatives in the grisly Ampatuan town massacre last November 23. - LBG, GMANews.TV