CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – For possessing firearms without licenses and permits, seven persons were arrested by the police in a village in a disputed land in Bukidnon on Friday.
The Bukidnon police said law enforcers chanced upon a group of armed men who were in a combat position in a farm lot in Barangay Sinangguyan, Don Carlos town.
The police team was responding to a request for inspection of the security guards posted in the contested land.
The land, police said, was allegedly claimed by Bai Juanita Regondola, believed to be an indigenous peoples’ representative in the province.
Upon arriving at the site, police saw the armed men in a “maneuvering position,” prompting them to arrest the suspects.
Confiscated from the suspects were various types of long firearms, which had no permits, according to the policemen. Among them were a .50 caliber Barrett rifle, a carbine and M14 rifles, and several magazines containing assorted ammunition.
Almost all of the seized weapons had no serial numbers, police said.
Police identified those arrested as Restituto Ampalid, 22; Reco Cadis, 28; JC Valdez, 25; Ricky Tabanag, 29; Elizer Mantawil, 40; Walton Tomangong, 28; and Dante Antatap, 44. Most of the suspects are from North Cotabato.
The suspects were brought to the Don Carlos police station where they are detained pending the filing of charges in court.
Police are still investigating who employed the armed suspects or their involvement in the land conflict in the area.
Several pieces of land in Sinangguyan and the neighboring village of Base Camp in Maramag town are under dispute involving agrarian reform beneficiaries and tribal people. SFM/rga