By Jong Cadion
ZAMBOANGA
CITY (February 27, 2018) - With the sustained dialogue and security
operations of the military, barangay officials surrendered twenty-nine more
loose firearms to the Joint Task Force Zamboanga from February 21-23, 2018, military
official said.
Western Mindanao
Command (WestMinCom) Cpt Jo-Ann D Petinglay disclosed that surrendered by said
officials were 28 Caliber 30 M1 Garand rifles and a 9mm pistol that are
currently in the custody of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-11 in Sangali for
initial accounting, firearms check, and investigation.
“The
continuing surrender of unregister firearms is an offshoot of the diplomatic
mentoring launched by our troops, thereby lessening the possibility of using
the instruments of violence for lawlessness and criminality,” said Colonel
Leonel Nicolas, Commander of the Joint Task Force Zamboanga.
As of this
press time, there are 57 M1 Garand rifles that were surrendered to the JTF
Zamboanga while there are other barangays who have signified their intentions
to yield their unlicensed firearms given alternative options of safeguarding
their barangays.
Last
February 21, barangay officials from Arena Blanco, Tigtabon, Mercedes, and
Cabaluay, through Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar,
surrendered 157 firearms to Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., Commander
of the Western Mindanao Command, as a gesture of supporting the campaign of the
WestMinCom in the midst of the the implementation of Martial Law in Mindanao.
From
January 1 to February 27, 2018, troops recovered a total of 285 loose firearms,
192 of which were surrendered in Zamboanga, 52 in Sulu, 30 in ZamPeLan, and 11
in Central.
“In line
with the pronouncement our President, the campaign against loose firearms was
launched by WMC through our Joint Task Forces to implement the Security,
Governance and Development Strategies of Martial Law in Mindanao,” said LtGen
Galvez, Jr.
“We are
intensifying our security operations to prepare for the forthcoming Barangay
and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections this year. This includes our heightened
operations to defeat armed groups in our area of responsibility,” the
WestMinCom Chief adds.
No comments:
Post a Comment