COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 30 August) – Four men bearing several alleged illegal firearms were arrested at a checkpoint in Midsayap, North Cotabato Tuesday night, officials said.
Lt. Col. Peter Pinalgan Jr., Midsayap police chief, said the arrest was made at a checkpoint jointly manned by police and military personnel in Barangay Bual at around 6 p.m.
Seized from the suspects were two M-16 rifles and four pistols, all fully loaded with ammunition.
“We had intensified our security measures after an earlier shooting incident at the town hall area. This white pick-up truck, without a plate number, caught our attention. During the search, our troops found unauthorized firearms inside the vehicle,” Pinalgan said in a phone interview.
The suspects were identified as Hedar Samal Talib, 38; Suhod Daud Sindatok, 23; Farhan Gapor Abubakar, 28; and, Nabil Kalim Makalay, 27.
Except for Talib, the rest are residents of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao Del Sur. Local radio reports said that Talib, a former overseas worker, is a candidate in Barangay Sambulawan, Midsayap, Cotabato.
Sindatuk is reportedly a son of a top commander of former rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The checkpoint operation was conducted by the Midsayap police, Highway Patrol Group-12, 34th Infantry Battalion and other intelligence security units in Midsayap town.
Pinalgan said the suspects identified themselves as MILF members, adding they failed to show any authority from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to carry firearms.
The Comelec has implemented a gun ban from August 28, coinciding with the first day of the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC), until November 28.
“We are still verifying this report that they are members of the MILF. Still, we will file proper charges for violation of the election gun ban,” Pinalgan said.
Midsayap Mayor Rolly Sacdalan said they intensified security measures following the killing of Haron Dimalanes, an aspiring village chief for Barangay Malingao in the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The victim was about to file his COC when he was gunned down by motorcycle riding-in-tandem suspects outside the local Comelec office.
Sacdalan said that “rido” or clan war might be the motive for the killing of the victim.
The mayor noted that the arrest of the suspects who don’t have permits to carry firearms was a product of their increased security measures because of what happened earlier in the day.
He said that the arrest of the four persons and the deadly shooting “were not related.”
At least 13 villages in Midsayap opted to join the BARMM during the plebiscite held in 2019.
In total, 63 villages from six towns in North Cotabato comprise the BARMM’s Special Geographic Area. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)
