6th ID now holds over 1,000 surrendered and 'captured' guns

COTABATO CITY — The Philippine Army commander and Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Carlito Galvez Jr., separately praised the 6th Infantry Division for collecting 1,031 combat weapons through community dialogues and tactical operations over the past 24 months.

The cache of 1,031 weapons was presented to Philippine Army Commander Lt. Gen. Roy Galido by 6th ID officials during his visit to their headquarters in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, on Tuesday morning, April 1.

The weapons, consisting of assault rifles, bolt-action sniper rifles, B40 anti-tank and 40 millimeter grenade launchers, .50 and .30 caliber machineguns, M60 machineguns, .45 and 9 millimeter machine pistols, revolvers of various calibers and 60 and 81 millimeter mortars, are now kept in Camp Siongco in Barangay Awang in Datu Odin Sinsuat, where 6th ID’s headquarters is located.

During his visit to Camp Siongco, Major Gen. Donald Gumiran, commander of 6th ID, informed Lt. Gen. Roy Galido that many of the combat weapons were voluntarily turned over by owners as part of the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Management Program in Central Mindanao, a joint initiative between the division and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.

Some of the combat weapons now in the custody of the 6th ID were seized by soldiers during separate anti-terror operations across Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and Sarangani provinces since late 2003.

“I am thankful to the local government units that helped the 6th ID work out the voluntary surrender of many of these firearms in support of the government’s normalization campaign in 6th ID’s area of responsibility,” Galido said.

Dozens of the weapons presented to Galido were "captured" in operations carried out with the support of vigilant traditional leaders and local officials, according to Gumiran. 

Gumiran said peace advocacy groups and traditional Moro leaders were also partly instrumental in convincing owners of unlicensed guns to comply with the SALW Management Program, complementing the national government’s peace overtures with southern Moro communities.

Galvez of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, told reporters in Cotabato City via text message on Tuesday that he is thankful to officials of the 6th ID for their extensive implementation of the SALW Management Program in the four provinces and four cities within the division's jurisdiction.

“We also appreciate the help of local executives and traditional community leaders in these areas in pushing this normalization effort forward,” Galvez said.