Cotabato City residents surrender 23 firearms to Marines

COTABATO CITY — The 5th Marine Battalion, securing all of Cotabato City’s 37 barangays, collected in the past three weeks 23 assault rifles and grenade launchers surrendered by owners in compliance with a disarmament campaign complementing the Mindanao peace process.

Major Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division that has operational control over units of the Navy’s Philippine Marine Corps in Cotabato City and Maguindanao del Norte province, told reporters on Wednesday, October 2, that the combat weapons were turned in by owners to manifest support for the Small Arms and Light Weapons Management Program of the military-led anti-terror Joint Task Force Central.

The task force, led by 6th ID, is comprised of Marine and Army units in the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Sarangani and in the cities of Cotabato, Tacurong, Koronadal and General Santos.

Nafarrete said the 23 firearms and grenade launchers now in the custody of the 5th Marine Battalion were turned in by owners through the intercession of its commanding officer, Marine Lt. Col. Lester Mark Baky and community leaders in Cotabato City.

Units of 6th ID had collected, since 2022, almost 2,000 pistols, assault rifles, B40 rocket launchers, 40 millimeter grenade launchers, M60 machineguns, 60 and 81 millimeter mortars that were voluntarily surrendered by owners, among them former members of the now moribund Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Dawlah Islamiya.