Shabu ‘tiangge’ boss purchased 150 guns for protection — witness

Amin Imam Boratong, the alleged operator of the dismantled shabu "tiangge" in Pasig City, had purchased at least 150 high-powered and small firearms, some of which were loaned to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in exchange for his family’s protection.

Government witness Samer Palao, 39, alias Tangkad, said some of the guns were also used in executing at least 50 government "spies" as well as drug addicts who failed to pay for shabu.

"Maraming armas si Amin pero ang naka-lisensiya lang sa kanya ay ang kalibre .40 at kalibre .45," Palao said.

He claimed the arsenal of Boratong includes several M-60 light machine guns, M-14 and M-16 rifles, Bar caliber .30 rifles, Garand caliber 30 rifles, M-203 grenade launchers, and AK-47 rifles.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has coordinated with the military for the identification and recovery of Boratong’s firearms.

The PNP also sought the intervention of the GRP-MILF panels for the turnover of Boratong to the custody of the government.

Police said they believe Boratong and his wife, Memie, have sought refuge in one of the MILF enclaves in Lanao del Sur after eluding arrest by combined elements of the PNP, Special Action Force (SAF) and Marines last Aug. 28.

Boratong and his second wife, Sheryl, were ordered arrested by Judge Abraham Boreta of Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 154 last July 11.

The other wife has no standing warrant of arrest.

To hasten the arrest of the couple, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno has offered a P800,000 reward for their capture.

Boratong allegedly purchased the firearms in Mindanao and Metro Manila at the height of the shabu tiangge operations, Palao claimed.

When the compound was raided by police last Feb. 10, a large number of firearms were kept at a safehouse near Boratong’s residence, the witness said.

After the raid, the high-powered firearms were shipped to Mindanao while some of the handguns were given by Boratong to his protectors, Palao said.

The PNP said several of Boratong’s high-powered firearms were on loan to a battalion commander of the MILF based in Tamparan town, Lanao del Sur.

"Amin bought high-powered firearms through rouge policemen in Metro Manila and gave some to the MILF to ensure their security as they move around in the metropolis and in Mindanao," the PNP report said.

It was Memie who facilitated the loaning of the firearms to an MILF commander, who is believed to be her uncle, the report stated.

The PNP report claimed at least 100 MILF fighters were sighted at Boratong’s newly-built mansion in Tamparan. The mansion, located 27 kilometers from Marawi City, costs P20 million and was scheduled to be blessed last Aug. 28.

Boratong and his MILF escorts fled the mansion as joint police and military personnel, out to serve an arrest warrant, arrived on board two tanks, and eight vehicles, the PNP report said.

"The mansion offers an ideal vantage point so occupants could see incoming vehicles several kilometers away," the report said, adding that Boratong and his companions fled to the coast, boarded a speedboat and sped off to an unknown direction.