Quake leads to discovery of loose guns in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY – The earthquake that hit Mindanao last week may have devastated numerous homes and ended a dozen lives. But it exposed one thing which authorities are now trying to address: the increasing number of loose firearms in the hands of civilians in the island.

Police and military officials said that during the height of the earthquake, thousands of people rushed to take their guns and fire in the air, turning places like this city into virtual war zones. Superstition has it that the bullets will stop the shaking of the earth during a tremor.

The military said soldiers collected no less than 5,000 empty shells of bullets the day after the earthquake, a proof of civilians’ illegal firepower.

"There are more people now who have guns compared to two or three years ago," said one Army officer based at the Philippine Constabulary Hill, a military reservation on top of the Kutawato stone fortress at the heart of this city.

The officer said the indiscriminate firing of guns during the dawn earthquake last Wednesday showed also that loose firearms are now being owned by various people, regardless of religion. In the past, it was the Muslims who carried the most number of unlicensed guns.

"Even Christians now have assault rifles and handguns and they joined in the firing. It was like New Year’s Eve," the officer said.

The firing of guns during the earthquake was so intense and long that non-gun owners were scared to go out for fear of being hit by stray bullets.

Datu Henjie Ali, a reporter of the Catholic radio station dxMS, said many residents simply stayed inside their houses during the earthquake because the gunshots made them think that the city was being attacked.

"I heard shouts that the city was under attack. Some people were saying rebels were closing in and some were screaming that the people firing the guns were members of the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang," Ali recalled.

Alma Cadidis, another local resident, said that when the earthquake struck, she led her five children to a garden in her backyard. However, she was forced to lead her children back into the house when she heard the burst of gunfire.

"I didn’t know what to do anymore. I was really nervous," she said.

Firing of guns during earthquakes is an act practiced only in the past by Muslims. For them, especially the superstitious ones, earthquakes are caused by evil spirits and only gunshots could drive these spirits away.

Authorities have yet to make an estimate on how many loose firearms now exist in Mindanao. Ten years ago, some 60,000 unlicensed guns were already in the hands of civilians in this city and in Maguindanao province.

The government has been trying to discourage illegal gun ownership but residents still insist on buying loose guns as a means of self defense, and which in fact was recommended by anti-kidnapping czar police Director Hermogenes Ebdane. – John Unson