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John Unson - Philstar.com
February 24, 2026 | 5:07pm
The combat weapons surrendered by villagers from across Zamboanga del Sur province are now in the custody of the Army's 53rd Infantry Battalion.
Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Residents of seven adjoining towns in Region 9 surrendered 39 assorted firearms to the military on Monday, February 23, in support of the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SAWL) Management Program of the Western Mindanao Command and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity.
The WestMinCom and the OPAPRU are together implementing since July 2024 the SALW Management Program in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim, in Regions 9 and 12. The program complements the disarmament agenda of the national government’s peace process with southern Moro communities.
Army Lt. Gen. Donald Gumiran, commander of WestMinCom, told reporters on Tuesday that he is thankful to his subordinate-officers in Army units in Zamboanga del Sur, among them Brig. Gen. Samuel Yunque of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, to the 53rd Infantry Battalion and to Gov. Divina Grace Yu of Zamboanga del Sur for cooperating in collecting the 39 firearms via backchannel dialogues with owners.
Gumiran said the mayors in Tukuran, Margosatubig, Tabina, Dinas, Dimataling, Pitogo and Vincenzo A. Sagun in Zamboanga del Sur were also instrumental in securing the voluntary turnover of the weapons by owners to Yunque and to officials of the 53rd IB, led by Lt. Col. Rolando Vargas Jr. and representatives from the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office during a symbolic rite on Monday at the municipal town hall in Tukuran.
Units of the WestMinCom in BARMM and in Regions 9 and 12 had collected 4,678 M16, M14, Garand and Carbine rifles, long-range bolt-action sniper rifles, rocket and grenade launchers, M60, .30 and .50 caliber machineguns, 60 and 81 millimeter mortars, 9 millimeter machine pistols, revolvers and pistols since it started implementing, along with OPPRU, the SALW Management Program in July 2024.
More than half of the cache is from residents of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Central Mindanao, surrendered by owners to Army units under the 6th Infantry Division through the intercession of officials of the division and local executives in the region.
