DAVAO CITY, Philippines ? Martial rule in the province of Maguindanao may be lifted even before the 60-day period lapses, according to a ranking military official.

Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command and military-in-charge of Maguindanao, said the Armed Forces? goal to neutralize armed groups and arrest suspects in the Nov. 23 massacre of at least 57 people, might be achieved soon.

Ferrer told the Inquirer that the firearms recovered and dug up in the premises of Ampatuan?s palatial homes and warehouses have reached to more than 800.

Ferrer said they would go back to the previously raided warehouses and residences of Ampatuans, after an informer told them about secret rooms and compartments that the raiding team did not notice.

?We have to go back to some safehouses and warehouses because there are structures that are hidden where the other firearms could be hidden,? Ferrer said.

Ferrer said the army would also start disarming at least 200 members of the private army of Buluan Vice-Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu.

?They (Mangudadatus) already know that they are not exempted,? Ferrer said.

Mangudadatu lost his wife, his two sisters, aunts and supporters, along with 30 journalists he invited to the filing of his certificate of candidacy for governor, in the massacre.

Ferrer said a total of 27 vehicles, some with PNP markings, have been recovered from the Ampatuans.

He said that with the progress of their work on the ground, martial law may even be shortened.

?It might not even exceed 60 days,? he said.

He also defended the declaration of martial law, saying it was the only option to go after the suspects because in the days after the massacre, the judiciary in the area was not operating.

?We will have a hard time to do the searches if the martial law was not imposed,? he said.

Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza said martial law was needed at a time when government was no longer functioning in Maguindanao.

?They (critics) don?t know the real situation on the ground,? Dureza said.

He added that martial law was needed to quell rebellion and pursue the culprits behind the massacre.

Dureza said hundreds of residents have also left their homes following the declaration.

?Tension is still there, people still fear for their safety,? Dureza said.