Members of private armed groups arrested in Zamboanga del Sur

MANILA, Philippines—Member of a private armed group in Zamboanga del Sur, who included a local barangay captain, were arrested and disarmed, police said Friday.

The members—identified as Domingo C. Bariquit, Abraham S. Apat, Julian P. Paica, and Ivan Colot Luayon—were arrested in Barangay (village) Lourmah, Mahayag, Zamboanga del Sur at around 7:45 a.m. Thursday.

“Bariquit is the barangay [captain] of said place, which law enforcers consider as sanctuary of private armed groups being utilized by some local politicians,” Police Director Samuel Pagdilao, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said in a statement Friday.

Authorities confiscated three shotguns, a .45 caliber pistol, a 9mm pistol, an M16 assault rifle, a KG-9 semi-automatic machine pistol, and one “sumpak” or improvised gun, Pagdilao said.

Also seized were ammunition, magazines, and an empty box of fragmentation grenade.

“The arrested suspects and the confiscated items were brought to Zamboanga del Sur CIDG for documentation and proper disposition” Police Senior Superintendent Efren Cabrera Danao, CIDG Region 9 chief, said.

“The operation is part of our efforts to account for loose firearms and instruments of violence to ensure peaceful elections as directed by President Benigno S. Aquino III and PNP chief Police Director General Nicanor A Bartolome,” Pagdilao said.