CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Nearly 600 assorted firearms either seized or surrendered by communist insurgents were decommissioned by the Army’s Fourth Infantry Division (4ID) at its headquarters here Wednesday morning.
4ID inventoried a total of 593 firearms that were captured, confiscated, surrendered and recovered from the New People’s Army (NPA) and are part of at least 1,040 assorted guns that are now in the possession of the Army’s Eastern Mindanao Command.
Of the 593, about 79 of these, classified by the military as “non-standard,” were sawn off and set on fire.
Maj. Gen. Ronald Villanueva, the 4ID commander, said the weapons were destroyed so these could no longer pose a threat to the public.
“One firearm may harm a lot of people,” Villanueva told reporters on the sidelines of the decommissioning ceremony at the 4ID grandstand.
Villanueva said the collection of firearms was the result of a series of military operations conducted by the 4ID within its area of responsibility – particularly in Bukidnon and some parts of the Caraga Region – where soldiers engaged NPA units operating in those areas.
Among the destroyed weaponry included AK-47, M-16 and M-1 rifles, M-60 machine guns, shotguns, and various types of side arms. The firearms were cut into pieces and some parts were burned so they could not be used again.
Aside from neutralizing the weapons, Villanueva said many of the firearms that were not subjected for demilitarization were also used as evidence in court or turned over to the police and other law enforcement agencies.
Some, especially those used by insurgents who had surrendered, were placed under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-Clip) of the government.
Meanwhile, Villanueva said the 4ID’s “relentless combat offensives” had resulted in the dismantling of some 300 rebel camps, seizure of weapons, food supplies and medicines, and explosives that were buried on the ground.
The 4ID jurisdiction is the second area in the country with the most number of NPA rebels – with about 800 fighters still engaging government forces. (Jigger Jerusalem/PNA)
