MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — The military collected Friday 42 assorted firearms from sympathizers of the New People’s Army and the Dawlah Islamiya in Maitum and nearby towns in Sarangani province.
Major Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said Saturday the firearms were turned in by owners through the intercession of officials of the 38th Infantry Battalion and local leaders.
Maitum is a seaside town in Sarangani province, where there is presence of NPAs and members of the Dawlah Islamiya.
“It took time for the 38th IB and local executives to make the owners of the firearms realize that there is nothing good in supporting the two groups. We are happy that their efforts gained breakthrough,” Uy told reporters Saturday via online Messenger.
Many of the villagers who turned in unlicensed firearms are supporters of the NPA’s self-styled Militia ng Bayan under the group’s Far South Mindanao Region Command.
A number of them are confessed supporters of the Dawlah Islamiya, operating in the fashion of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, blamed for all deadly bomb attacks in central Mindanao since 2014.
There are two groups using the Dawlah Islamiya’s banner, the Ansa’r Kilafah Philippines and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, both espousing hatred for non-Muslims.
Uy said the firearms collected by the 38th IB are now kept in its battalion headquarters in Maasim town also in Sarangani province.