CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY –– The nine Lumad (indigenous people) earlier arrested in a raid in Misamis Oriental have been charged for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, according to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Region 10 (CIDG-10) on Tuesday.
Lt. Noel Oclarit, deputy team leader of the CIDG-10 in Misamis Oriental, said the nine individuals, two of them still at large, were indicted mostly for violating Republic Act 10591 for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Charged with violation of RA 10591 were Pilutong Langka, Pablita Hilogon, Reynaldo Ayuma, Dandi Hilogon, Bambi Hilogon, Padod Ayuma, and Glenn Hilogon.
Still at large were Junrey Boy Hilogon and Berni Gandino, who faced charges for violations of Republic Act 9516 for illegal possession of explosives.
Oclarit said the items were confiscated from the suspects’ houses in Barangay Blanco, Balingasag during a raid on June 26.
A combined team of police and military personnel claimed they found assorted firearms, ammunition, and explosives in the houses of the suspects as they served eight search warrants.
The provincial prosecutor issued the information and resolution of the complaint on June 30, and endorsed these to the local court, Oclarit said.
He said the court has also issued a commitment order to transfer the custody of the suspects from the CIDG-10 to the provincial jail.
The suspects were expected to be turned over to the provincial jail on Tuesday.
Oclarit said they raided the houses of the suspects based on the search warrants issued by Judge Arthur Abundiente in Misamis Oriental.
Reported confiscated from the suspects’ were assorted firearms, including three homemade shotguns, two .38 caliber pistols, and various magazine clips and ammunition, including printed materials that police described as “subversive documents.”
Oclarit claimed the suspects were affiliated with the communist New People’s Army (NPA) and one of the suspects had been an NPA fighter known as “Ka Rex.”
The CIDG-10 official also said many of those arrested were part of a group of IP members, who camped out at the Misamis Oriental provincial capitol in 2018, who were displaced by the fighting between government forces and communist rebels.
More than a hundred individuals evacuated from their homes in Barangay Banglay, Lagonglong town, Misamis Oriental for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.
When their temporary shelters were demolished by the provincial government last year, some of the evacuees went back to their homes in Banglay while others moved to Blanco and settled there.