CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Ampatuan clan did not buy its huge stocks of ammunitions from the Government Arsenal (GA) in Limay, Bataan, but military sources said a government policy in fighting the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as well as corruption in the military aided the clan to develop strong firepower that displayed its might in the massacre of 57 people including 30 media workers on Nov. 23 in Maguindanao.
“We do not sell to the [Philippine National Police] or private buyers because we have no capacity to meet the supply needs of others. We only sell to the [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” said an official of the GA, which is a line bureau of the Department of National Defense. The official declined to be named as investigation is pending on the matter.
The 370-hectare defense industrial estate, 80 kms west from here, manufactures for the AFP at least four types of bullets including 7.62mm M80 and 5.56mm M193. These matched most of those found and seized by the military in various sites in the days when martial rule was in force in the province.
“Paglabas sa gate ng GA, wala nang responsibilidad ang GA (When the ammunitions are brought out of the GA gate, the GA has no more responsibility over those),” said the source.
Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, spokesperson of the PNP, said the PNP does not buy its stocks from the GA. Instead, it buys from Armscor and other private suppliers.
Asked how the Ampatuans managed to secure guns and bullets that bore markings showing those belonged to the PNP, Espina said this was still a subject of an “ongoing investigation.”
‘CLOSER TIES’
A retired Army general who served in North Cotabato and Maguindanao several years ago said the national government was partly to be blamed for the growth of the Ampatuans’ might.
“What I know is the Ampatuans were allowed to have SCAAs [Special CAFGUs (Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units) Active Auxiliary] as authorized per policy of DND and AFP. This is part of the campaign against secessionists,” said the ex-general. That was why the SCAAs placed in the care of the Ampatuans were “legitimately” armed with rifles and ammunitions.
The “flaw,” he noted, is that the “control of this SCAA [rests] on a handful of Army cadres [who] would not suffice [to have] effective control over them.”
In his assessment, “the almost permanent assignment of these cadres led to closer ties with the Ampatuans, rendering an objective handling of the SCAA almost inutile.”
Not naming anyone, the ex-general said the cadres are enlisted personnel assigned in the cadre battalion which provides cadre duties to Cafgus in the infantry division.”
As it turned out, this government campaign empowered instead local officials than defeat secessionist forces like the MILF that has been in an on-and-off peace talks with the government in more than two decades.
PILFERAGE
An Army colonel suspects that a racket called “expend” is how the Ampatuans got their hands on so much ammunition.
“With so many encounters there, all that a rifleman has to do is declare [in his after action report] that all his bullets have been expended,” he said.
A rifleman maintains 360 rounds for his Armalite or M-14 at any time.
According to the colonel, the “savings” or unused bullets are then traded by the soldier himself in the blackmarket to augment his income.
The blackmarket also thrives because the “culture of Muslims is that every household should own a gun,” he said.
According to the colonel, the arms trading industry in Mindanao is “so loose and porous” and knows no enemy. Some middlemen buy from the PNP and AFP, he said.
Military generals are not involved because the racket “is too risky,” he said. To establish the source of the firearms or ammunitions, investigators need to get copies of the memorandum receipts, which are government documents. These show who or what unit received the supplies.
But another Army colonel insists that the pilferage happens at the level of the battalions or brigades through their respective logistics officers.
The pilferage could never happen at the level of the unified command because it does not buy ammunitions or guns, according to Lt. Gen. Ricardo Ramos, chief of the military’s Northern Luzon Command. “Unified commands are composed of units from the major services which provide them the logistics,” he said.
“We do not sell to the [Philippine National Police] or private buyers because we have no capacity to meet the supply needs of others. We only sell to the [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” said an official of the GA, which is a line bureau of the Department of National Defense. The official declined to be named as investigation is pending on the matter.
The 370-hectare defense industrial estate, 80 kms west from here, manufactures for the AFP at least four types of bullets including 7.62mm M80 and 5.56mm M193. These matched most of those found and seized by the military in various sites in the days when martial rule was in force in the province.
“Paglabas sa gate ng GA, wala nang responsibilidad ang GA (When the ammunitions are brought out of the GA gate, the GA has no more responsibility over those),” said the source.
Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, spokesperson of the PNP, said the PNP does not buy its stocks from the GA. Instead, it buys from Armscor and other private suppliers.
Asked how the Ampatuans managed to secure guns and bullets that bore markings showing those belonged to the PNP, Espina said this was still a subject of an “ongoing investigation.”
‘CLOSER TIES’
A retired Army general who served in North Cotabato and Maguindanao several years ago said the national government was partly to be blamed for the growth of the Ampatuans’ might.
“What I know is the Ampatuans were allowed to have SCAAs [Special CAFGUs (Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units) Active Auxiliary] as authorized per policy of DND and AFP. This is part of the campaign against secessionists,” said the ex-general. That was why the SCAAs placed in the care of the Ampatuans were “legitimately” armed with rifles and ammunitions.
The “flaw,” he noted, is that the “control of this SCAA [rests] on a handful of Army cadres [who] would not suffice [to have] effective control over them.”
In his assessment, “the almost permanent assignment of these cadres led to closer ties with the Ampatuans, rendering an objective handling of the SCAA almost inutile.”
Not naming anyone, the ex-general said the cadres are enlisted personnel assigned in the cadre battalion which provides cadre duties to Cafgus in the infantry division.”
As it turned out, this government campaign empowered instead local officials than defeat secessionist forces like the MILF that has been in an on-and-off peace talks with the government in more than two decades.
PILFERAGE
An Army colonel suspects that a racket called “expend” is how the Ampatuans got their hands on so much ammunition.
“With so many encounters there, all that a rifleman has to do is declare [in his after action report] that all his bullets have been expended,” he said.
A rifleman maintains 360 rounds for his Armalite or M-14 at any time.
According to the colonel, the “savings” or unused bullets are then traded by the soldier himself in the blackmarket to augment his income.
The blackmarket also thrives because the “culture of Muslims is that every household should own a gun,” he said.
According to the colonel, the arms trading industry in Mindanao is “so loose and porous” and knows no enemy. Some middlemen buy from the PNP and AFP, he said.
Military generals are not involved because the racket “is too risky,” he said. To establish the source of the firearms or ammunitions, investigators need to get copies of the memorandum receipts, which are government documents. These show who or what unit received the supplies.
But another Army colonel insists that the pilferage happens at the level of the battalions or brigades through their respective logistics officers.
The pilferage could never happen at the level of the unified command because it does not buy ammunitions or guns, according to Lt. Gen. Ricardo Ramos, chief of the military’s Northern Luzon Command. “Unified commands are composed of units from the major services which provide them the logistics,” he said.
