‘War booties’ SAF 44 GUNS BEING PEDDLED TO POLS, WARLORDS, DRUG LORDS

By Manny Piñol

A Central Mindanao politician has confirmed that powerful and sophisticated guns and armaments taken from the 44 commandos of the Special Action Force (SAF) who were killed by members of both the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao Jan. 25 are now being peddled to local politicians, warlords and even known druglords in the area.

The armaments include at least two 90RRs, M-60 machineguns, Minimi 5.56 machineguns, sniper rifles, M4 rifles fitted with grenade launchers, Bushmaster rifles also fitted with grenade launchers, night vision scopes and sophisticated Harris radios.

The slain policemen were also believed to be carrying personal effects, including mobile phones. The wife of one of the slain SAF member told the media that her husband’s phone was being used to call and harass her.

A ranking police officer said the SAF company which served as the blocking force carried powerful and refitted armaments supposedly to repulse any harassment from armed groups during the mission to take out international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, an expert bomb-maker who helped train local terrorists.

The SAF commandos succeeded in killing Marwan but a company assigned as blocking force was attacked by a combined group of MILF and BIFF.

The company was annihilated leaving 44 policemen dead, some of the bodies hacked and mutilated by the rampaging rebel group.

“Binebenta na nila. Nilapitan ako at inalok ng 90RR pero mahal masyado. P1.2-M ang presyo nila,” said the Central Mindanao politician I talked with over the weekend.

(They are selling the guns now. I was approached and offered a 90RR but the asking price of P1.2-M was too much.)

The police officer said as early as Monday last week, a day after the massacre in Mamasapano, a barangay official in Midsayap, North Cotabato who is a suspected drug lord was offered some of the SAF armaments.

“I could not confirm whether he bought the guns but the report that the guns are being offered to almost every known politician, warlord and druglord in the area is confirmed,” he said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) acting chief Leonardo Espina earlier called on the MILF to show a certain degree of goodwill to government by returning the armaments and personal effects of the slain policemen.

In response, the MILF leadership claimed that the guns are in the hands of some of its members involved in what they claimed was a “mis-encounter” and that they were mulling on the request to return the guns.

A Philippine Daily Inquirer report said “the MILF said all weapons its forces got from the fallen SAF members were still with its ground forces in Mamasapano, contrary to media reports some of them had already been sold.

“The firearms are still intact,” MILF chief negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal told the Inquirer by phone.

“Without specifying the number of firearms belonging to the slain SAF members, which MILF ground forces now possess, Iqbal said the MILF has formed a team “to assess and do the accounting of all the guns taken by the 105th Base Command.”

Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte, however, doubts if the guns taken from the SAF commandos will be returned.

“Those firearms, I don’t think those will still be returned,” Duterte said, adding that firearms seized during any war or encounter were already considered “war booties.”

“It’s as if it’s their lives you are asking if you ask for those firearms to be returned,” Duterte, who understands the culture of the warrior tribes of Mindanao said.

(Photo credit: Images of recoilless rifle and M-60 machinegun downloaded from Google)