CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao–Local officials of M’lang in North Cotabato on Thursday turned over at least 131 unlicensed guns collected from residents in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s disarmament program in Mindanao.
Mayor Russel Abonado and North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Mendoza led the turnover of assorted firearms to the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade, headed by Col. Alfredo Rosario Jr.
Speaking during the ceremony held at the municipal gymnasium, Abonado said the unlicensed guns “are now in good hands,” adding that the firearms “could cause death and injury if they remained in the possession of unauthorized persons.”
Rosario said the military hopes that more people would surrender their undocumented firearms through local government units.
The firearms collected from civilians and village officials included homemade 12-gauge shotguns, .30-caliber machine guns, Garand rifles, M-16 rifles, handguns, and hundreds of ammunitions for various calibers.
M’lang was the fifth LGU in North Cotabato that collected guns and turned them over to military authorities. Earlier, the local governments of Carmen, Midsayap, Matalam, and Pikit also surrendered guns to the Army. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
