Jolo, Sulu – The longstanding coordination between military forces and key leaders in the Municipality of Omar, Sulu led to the turnover of 19 rifles on Friday, August 13, at the 1101st Infantry Brigade (1101 Bde) Headquarters in Brgy. Samak, Talipao.
In simple a ceremony hosted by the 1101 Bde, former Omar Mayor Hji. Hussein B Mohammad handed over eleven M14 and eight M16 rifles to Joint Task Force – Sulu and 11th Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. William N. Gonzales.
“This was actually voluntarily surrendered by several individuals who – through the effort of 2nd Special Forces Battalion’s CAAs and our local community leaders – were able to have a deeper appreciation of a community’s role in zero tolerance to armed violence,” said 1101 Bde Commander Brig. Gen. Antonio I. Bautista Jr.
“Gun culture here in Sulu, or in any other part in the world, has brought nothing but violence and grief.
Years ago, people here are usually forced to take justice into their own hands. They use guns, they engage in clan wars, kaya marami ang napapasali sa Abu Sayyaf. Ngayon na marami nang security forces dito, hindi na ‘yon pwede,” he added.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Gonzales shared that the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace Process and the Provincial Government of Sulu are currently working on implementing rules and regulations for a Small Arms and Light Weapon Program.
“The program seeks to reduce, if not totally eradicate, unlicensed and undocumented firearms. If all goes as planned, those who yield their weapons can choose whether to avail of livelihood programs or scholarship grants. We are very optimistic that the security situation in Sulu will drastically improve because of this. We also look forward to seeing peoples’ lives in Sulu get better.” (Joint Task Force Sulu) -bny
