COTABATO CITY –– Authorities arrested on Thursday, Sept. 19, two armed men who claimed to be members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) during checkpoint operations in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.
Major Julhamin Asdani, Sultan Kudarat municipal police chief, identified the arrested men as Datu Ebrahim Egal, 23, and Ali Mama Unting, 32, both farmers and residents of Barangay Rebuken, Sultan Kudarat town.
Asdani said they were on board a red sedan and were passing through a police checkpoint at past 1 p.m.
When subjected to plain view inspection, Asdani said, police found a fully loaded M-16 Armalite rifle and a .45-caliber pistol.
Asdani added that the two men claimed to be MILF members but when asked about the documents authorizing their possession of the firearms, they showed nothing.
The two men are now detained at the Sultan Kudarat police custodial facility while the matter was forwarded to the government and MILF peace panels, Asdani said.
Under the ceasefire agreement, any MILF member is not allowed to carry guns outside of recognized camps./lzb