Surrender of more firearms to Army’s 6th ID expected

COTABATO CITY — Officials of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division are optimistic about collecting at least a thousand more combat weapons from Central Mindanao residents this year through its regional disarmament program, which complements the Mindanao peace process.

Since July 2024, the 6th ID and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity have been implementing the Small Arms and Light Weapons Management Program (SALW Program) in the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Sarangani, all in Central Mindanao.

Communities in the six provinces have a longstanding tradition of keeping military-type firearms, both as a status symbol and for protection against adversaries.

Major Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Monday, January 6, that local executives had recently reported to officials from various units of the division that leaders of armed groups and villagers expressed their intention to comply with the SALW Program.

Since August 2024, units of the 6th ID have collected 537 combat weapons surrendered by their owners in support of the SALW Program. The collection includes M16 and M14 assault rifles, M1 Garand and Carbine rifles, .50 caliber Barrett sniper rifles, 7.62-millimeter bolt-action sniper rifles, M60 and .30 caliber machine guns, 40-millimeter grenade launchers, B-40 rocket launchers, and 60 and 81-millimeter mortars.

“Credit for that feat should partly go to local executives, traditional community leaders and police officials who helped us convince them to surrender their weapons to our units,” Nafarrete said.

In Cotabato City, the administrative seat of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the 6th ID’s 6th Civil-Military Operations Battalion and the Navy’s 5th Marine Battalion have collected over a hundred combat weapons in the past four months, surrendered by owners with the help of community leaders supporting the SALW Program.

The SALW Program was first launched in Basilan in early 2024 by Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Carlito Galvez Jr. and Gov. Hadjiman Salliman.

Nafarrete said that commanding officers from various 6th ID units have recently been receiving surrender feelers from the remaining members of the now-dismantled terror groups in Central Mindanao, Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Since 2022, the 6th ID, municipal mayors, provincial governors, and the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region have collectively facilitated the surrender of 716 Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF members through backchannel dialogues, with many now peacefully living as farmers in their hometowns.

“We are expecting the few remaining members of these two groups to soon come out and pledge loyalty to the government as a prelude to their reintegration into mainstream society," Nafarrete said.