Mindanao gun control impossible: here’s why

The Senate exposé of VP Jojo Binay’s alleged hidden wealth is now making sense. No longer does Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano rely solely on Binay’s estranged ally and photographs that can mean anything. As but proper he forwards documents, amplified by witnesses’ accounts, of Binay’s possible ownership of a huge estate in Batangas. He further extracts tidbits to buttress his case as self-claimed estate buyer Antonio Tiu slips during cross-examination. With that, people can judge if Tiu is the true estate owner or a good dummy of Binay.

Cayetano’s militaristic colleague is the opposite. The latter makes mere accusation with no attempt to prove it. In a recent hearing he kept badgering Tiu for already calling the estate his after paying only 2.5 percent of the acquisition price. The militarist wouldn’t accept Tiu’s explanation that it’s figurative, no different from claiming a newly bought car to be his although he is still paying on installment and so the bank strictly speaking is the virtual owner.

The militarist reminds of martial law soldiers who punched, clubbed, electrocuted political prisoners to confess to being communists:

“You’re a communist, I said, so better admit it,” the torturer would growl as he punished the captive.

 “Sir, believe me, I’m not; in fact I’m anti-communist,” the victim would sob.

Whereupon, the torturer would strike harder, “I don’t care what kind of communist you are, just that you’re a communist, and you just said so.”

Of course, proof isn’t what the militarist wants, but publicity. For he has declared himself available for higher office in 2016; that is, the Presidency or Vice.

For the militarist, publicity, not depth, is what it takes to win office in the Philippines. And he is about to get more publicity. For Binay, in pique, has challenged him to a public debate.

Binay has everything to lose and nothing to gain from that debate. His popularity rating dropped a bit since the start of the Senate inquiry, but remains highest among “presidentiables.” Whereas, the militarist who has not figured at all in any of the surveys can ride on Binay’s star.

*      *      *

Gun control is key to peace in Muslim Mindanao. So President Noynoy Aquino is disarming not only ex-separatists but also political warlords. The former must have their rifles registered under deadlines in a recent peace pact. The latter have no deadlines. In fact, as civil officials they may not keep guns, except if duly licensed.

Politicos nonetheless retain private armies – with tacit consent of the military. Certain Army field officers cover up for them, without the knowledge of higher-ups. Only Commander-in-Chief P-Noy can stop the evil at the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

On Mar. 30, 2013, the ARMM police served a search warrant on the house of Mohammad Ali Aboh Abinal. The target being the mayor of Marantao, Lanao del Sur, the cops were extra careful. The region’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group first cleared the matter with general headquarters, which took care of securing the warrant. Before commencing they hailed three barangay officers and the mayor’s lawyers to witness the search.

Seven firearms were unearthed: a 7.62mm light machinegun, a 7.62mm (M14) rifle, a 5.56mm (M16) Colt, a 5.56mm Elisco, a .22-caliber rifle, a Magnum-.357 Smith & Wesson pistol, and a .45-caliber Para Ordnance pistol.

Also found were thousands of rounds of ammo, magazines, and accessories for the firearms. Oddest were nine 40mm recoilless rifle high explosives, and two .50-caliber machinegun cover plates.

Mayor Abinal was to be placed under arrest for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. But Lanao Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong took him into personal custody.

The cops rushed their catch to the Firearms & Explosives Division. The Philippine National Police’s official firearms registrar noted damning details. The 5.56mm Elisco and .22-cal. rifles, once licensed to civilian owners, are now wanted due to years of non-renewal. The .45-cal. pistol is registered with Mayor Abimal till 2016. There are no records of the four others, thus loose and confiscable.

On inquest two days later, Provincial Prosecutor Osop Abas found probable cause, to which his chief Sultan Basari Mapupuno agreed. Charges were filed in court in adjacent Marawi City, with Insp. Jovit Culaway and his policemen as complainants and witnesses.

Two weeks later Mayor Abinal alleged to the justice department’s regional office bias by Mapupuno, without explanation. ARMM regional fiscal Ramy Lawi Guiling posted his assistant Condara-an Mambering as acting provincial prosecutor to review the case.

A funny thing happened on the way to Marawi. Mambering in Aug. dismissed the case. Purportedly the warrant was faulty, despite issuance by a competent court. The search too supposedly was wrongful, despite the presence of Mayor Abinal’s two lawyers and barangay men. The evidence was deemed illegally obtained.

Too, Mambering declared the firearms, ammo, and parts to be duly listed with the Army. Specifically, he said, the 103rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based in the region. The six wanted and loose firearms supposedly were issued to six militiamen. These were covered by memorandum receipts (MRs), signed by a mere sergeant.

Allegedly the ordnance merely was placed in the house of Mayor Abinal for safekeeping, every time the six militiamen were off-duty. This was under a supposed memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the 103rd Brigade and Mayor Abinal. Mambering wanted the ordnance returned to Abinal.

Inspector Culaway refused, as the case was pending in the Marawi court. Any irregularity in the warrant or the search was for the court to decide. More so, the validity of the MRs and the MOA – which were never shown to the cops during the Mar. 2013 search or in Mayor Abinal’s June 2013 counter-affidavit.

Col. Glenn Macasero too, as 103rd Brigade commander, asked the PNP-ARMM to return the ordnance. Again Culaway refused.

In Nov. 2013, ARMM police head Chief Supt. Noel delos Reyes wrote Macasero for copies of the MRs and the MOA. He had reason to be suspicious. For, why would the 103rd Brigade need to deposit military ordnance – including recoilless (bazooka) rounds – in a civilian home for safekeeping, when it had its own secure armory? To this day, a year later, Macasero has yet to oblige delos Reyes’ request.

Delos Reyes also wrote then-Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista. He needed to verify the military’s ownership of the ordnance as claimed in a Macasero-Abinal MOA. He never got a reply.

All this de los Reyes summarized in a report to Justice Sec. Leila de Lima. Meanwhile, parties are moving to get the court to accept the MRs and the MOA.

Research shows that senior military officers may sign MOAs with civil officials, only under stringent rules. A recently retired Army general says a brigade commander must seek consent from the division chief, who in turn must consult the Army head. “It’s all to preserve the chain of command,” the general explains. A former major service chief adds that final approval can only be by the Secretary of National Defense. “All military dealings outside the department must have his approval,” the three-star ranker says.

The PNP’s mission is to uphold the rule of law. But for reasons only they know, military field officers can thwart that goal. That was how the Ampatuans came to absolute power in the ARMM. Delos Reyes knows it, for he was among the officers who investigated the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.

*      *      *

Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., DWIZ, (882-AM).

Gotcha archives on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jarius-Bondoc/1376602159218459, or The STAR website http://www.philstar.com/author/Jarius%20Bondoc/GOTCHA

E-mail: [email protected]