Maguindanao Sur Officials Turn Over Seized Firearms Amid Peace Efforts

COTABATO CITY —Three town mayors in Maguindanao del Sur have surrendered six high-powered firearms, including a caliber .50 machine gun, yielded by their constituents, officials said. Brig. Gen. Ricky Bunayog, acting commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), received the loose firearms collected from the municipalities of Shariff Aguak, Ampatuan and Sultan sa Barongis on Saturday, as part of continuing efforts to maintain peace and security in the province. Shariff Aguak Mayor Akmad Ampatuan, Ampatuan Mayor Datu Rasul Sangki, and Sultan sa Barongis Mayor Allandatu M. Angas Sr. went to the headquarters of the 601st Infantry Brigade in Barangay Kamasi, Ampatuan town to formally turn over the firearms to Bunayog. The surrender of the weapons was a result of the intensified campaign against loose firearms by Brig. Gen. Gremel Brual, 601st Infantry Brigade (IB) commander, with the help of local government officials. Brual said the firearms were collected by the local officials from their constituents in support of the government’s campaign against loose firearms. Bunayog welcomed the local officials’ efforts to hand over the firearms to authorities ahead of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections on Monday, Sept. 14. “Such joint efforts help strengthen public trust and security and contribute to a safer, more peaceful and progressive Bangsamoro,” Bunayog said.