Stiff penalties will be meted out to personnel found guilty of weapons and ammunition pilferage involving military stocks, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal said Tuesday.
“[If any military people are found involved], yung [the] full force of the law, apply the full force of the law para sa mga ito [to these individuals], we are professionalizing the Armed Forces, and definitely itong mga ito [these people] have no place in the ranks of the Armed Forces kung meron [man] [if there are any],” he added in an interview with reporters.
In a related development, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Wednesday batted for a congressional inquiry into the alleged selling of Armed Forces of the Philippines firearms to terrorist groups.
“The recovery of firearms and ammunition from gunrunners of Maute and Abu Sayyaf Groups which were traced to the military is reminiscent of the corruption that we have witnessed before under the Arroyo administration,” he said in a statement.
“This problem is one of the reasons why the Magdalo [party-list] is being pushed to protest against the government. It is disappointing that such thing is still happening now,” he added.
He said he would file a House resolution to call for the immediate and comprehensive investigation into the alleged illegal selling of military firearms and ammunition to terrorists.
Madrigal said he had already talked to Philippine Army head Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto and the Army logistics people regarding the weapons and ammunition with alleged AFP markings, which were seized by police during an operation in Valenzuela City last Sunday.
Also arrested in the entrapment operation were Edgardo and Rosemarie Medel.
In the same operation, authorities seized two assault rifles, a handgun and 12,893 rounds of live ammunition for an M-60 light machine gun and an M-16 automatic rifle.