Who Arms The Rebels?
By Manny Pinol
As the Zamboanga City crisis dragged on, not a few observers wondered out loud how a small group of former rebels-turned-rebels-again was able to engage the mighty armed forces of the country and inflict so much damage, killing at least three young officers and several other soldiers and policemen.
“Why are they not running out of bullets?” asked one official.
To that question, the answer came from another part of Mindanao where another group of Islamic rebels, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), launched a series of attacks on civilian populated areas in the periphery of the vast Liguasan Marsh.
“Paano kami maubusan ng bala at baril, eh sa military din namin binibili ito,” said the boastful BIFF spokesman Abu Misry Mama.
The BIFF spokesman made the statement following the attacks they launched in Midsayap and Tulunan towns which were later followed by a brief foray into my hometown, M’lang.
Indeed, where do the rebels get their firearms and their bullets?
Many of these firearms, including the original Russian-made RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades), were actually smuggled in during the years when the southern border with Malaysia was not properly monitored.
Those were during the years when Malaysia, who is now the third party in the negotiations with the Moro islamic Liberation Front (MILF) clandestinely aided Islamic rebels in the South because of the threat of the Philippine claim over Sabah.
Shortly after the end of the Vietnam War, there was also a flourishing gunrunning business bringing in high-powered firearms like M-16, M-14, M-60 machineguns and even mortars through the backdoor.
These guns went to the political warlords and the rebel groups.
Moro gunsmiths have also proved to be excellent gun makers. They have produced their own RPGs, converted old Garand rifles to M14s and even fashioned their own Barret sniper rifles using the barrels of old World War II vintage .50-caliber machineguns.
Over the years, corrupt members of the military and politicians have contributed to the build up of the armaments of the rebels in the Southern Philippines.
Improved Explosive Devices (IED) which the rebels used in terrorizing the populated areas in the south for many years now, are actually made out of 60mm and 81mm mortar shells which are equipped with a triggering device made out of cellular phones.
They have been doing this for many years now, killing hundreds and maiming thousands.
The question is: Where do they source the 60mm and 81mm mortars? Your guess is as good as mine.
Dirty politicians so hungry to gain power have also contributed to the killing and maiming of soldiers and innocent civilians.
Rebel groups demand guns from politicians especially during the election campaign period to gain their protection and support.
I should know because I received the same demands.
In the last elections, I received a demand from a rebel group for 10 firearms to be able to campaign in their influenced area.
My stock answer, which I have held on to over the years I was in politics, was: If you are hungry, I will give you food; If you are sick, I will give you medicines, just as I would to my other constituents.
But I will never give you guns which you may use in shooting my own people, soldiers and policemen.
Towards the last few days of the campaign in the last elections where survey figures showed that I was way ahead in voters’ preference, people in the Riverside Area of Midsayap reported to me that boxes of brand new China-made Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles were given to rebel groups.
M-14 rifles were also given to rebel groups in the Riverside Area of Kabacan along with huge amounts of money at least a day before the elections.
The result? I almost got zero votes in the 14,000-voter Midsayap Riverside and ended up losing by over 3,000 in the town because of that.
I also got clobbered in the Riverside of Kabacan.
But even with that outcome, if people will ask me today whether I also would be willing to give guns to rebels just to reverse the outcome, my answer will still be the same: No, I will not shoot my own people.
Unfortunately for us, politics is so dirty that those who crave for power are willing to do everything: Buy votes, cheat, give guns and even devour their own people.
The question that must be answered now is: Were the guns given to rebel groups in the Midsayap Riverside Area and in the other parts of the province over the last many elections used in the latest atrocities?
Were the guns and bullets sold by corrupt members of the armed forces used in killing our young officers, soldiers and policemen?
If they were, then those who gave those guns will have to live with the feeling of guilt that they harmed their own people.
That is if they have a conscience at all.
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