EDITORIAL - Firepower

Amid the bombings in Mindanao, the military reported yesterday the arrest of a suspected Abu Sayyaf member believed to be supplying weapons to the bandit group. Hakim Jajirn was apprehended in a raid on his home in a village in Jolo Wednesday night. The military reported confiscating weapons that included an M60 light machine gun with accessories, three M16 rifles and dozens of M16 parts and accessories, an M14 air gun, an M203 grenade launcher and a .45 caliber pistol.

That’s a lot of firepower for a village resident in the backwaters of Jolo. Where did the weapons come from, and the money to obtain them? Jolo, base of operations of the Abu Sayyaf, is teeming with military and police personnel, with US forces assisting them. Yet lawless elements continue to obtain heavy weapons including grenade launchers for their activities. Those weapons do not come cheap; one used good-quality original caliber .45 automatic can cost about P50,000 in the black market. An old M16 can cost from P25,000 to P30,000. The military has vehemently denied that some of its members are selling government-issued weapons to lawless elements. So where are the weapons coming from?

Authorities should also start tightening the regulation of substances used for explosives. Yesterday government forces reported finding 59 improvised explosive devices in several areas in Mindanao. Only a few individuals or companies are allowed to import substances used for the manufacture of explosives such as dynamite, which has legitimate uses in certain industries including mining. Certain explosives can be used legitimately only by the military. It shouldn’t be impossible to devise a system of monitoring the procurement and use of explosive substances for both civilian and military purposes.  

The reported discovery of the IEDs in Mindanao raised concern that more improvised bombs are being manufactured elsewhere and prepared for use. Instead of scaring the public with stories of terrorists now in Metro Manila, government forces should quietly hunt them down, cutting off their funding and supply routes.