DATU SALIBO, Maguindanao del Sur — Police arrested two men carrying high-powered firearms at a Commission on Elections (COMELEC) checkpoint in Barangay Sambulawan on Monday morning, September 15.
Authorities identified the suspects only by their aliases, Musa and Norodin, both of legal age.
Confiscated from them were four firearms: one Elisco 5.56mm rifle, one Colt 5.56mm rifle, one Armscor caliber .45 pistol, and one Shooter caliber .45 pistol, all loaded with magazines and ammunition.
The suspects were on board a Toyota Hilux when personnel from the Datu Salibo Municipal Police Station flagged them down at around 10:40 a.m. Police immediately noticed the firearms in their possession.
The men failed to present valid documents, including a COMELEC gun ban exemption permit, leading to their immediate arrest.
Maguindanao del Sur Police Provincial Director, Police Colonel Sultan Salman Sapal, commended the Datu Salibo police for the successful operation, emphasizing that the arrest was part of the intensified security measures in place to ensure peaceful and orderly conduct of the upcoming first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections.
PCOL Sapal also urged residents of Maguindanao del Sur to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities or individuals to the Philippine National Police.
The suspects remain in police custody while appropriate charges are being prepared.