Court asked to release seized Magdalo weapons

MANILA, Philippines - The Justice department and the military have asked the Makati Regional Trial Court to release the more than 200 high-powered firearms confiscated from the soldiers that stormed the Oakwood Premier Hotel in July 2003. In a two-page motion, Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Antony Fadullon asked Makati RTC Branch 148 Judge Oscar Pimentel for the release of the said firearms following the request of Armed Forces Judge Advocate General Col. Gilberto Jose Roa. Fadullon said the weapons can be used in the ongoing campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao. He said the release of the cache of firearms will not affect the ongoing defense of the accused soldiers, collectively known as the Magdalo group, as they have already been marked as evidenced, photographed, and stored in a compact disc to be used in court proceedings. "The People recognize that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are in dire need of these weapons and ordnance. As early as July 2004, these object evidence were already identified, marked, and photographed," Fadullon said in his motion. The DOJ filed the petition in behalf of Roa who asked Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales to work for the release of the firearms seized from the rebel soldiers upon their surrender on the night of July 27, 2003. The weapons remain stored at the Ordnance Warehouse, Supply Center Compound of the Army Support Command (ASCOM) in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. In an inventory Roa sent to the DOJ, the firearms, numbering 231, included 108 M-16A1 Armalite rifles, 38 7.62mm M-14 rifles, and eight M653 Colt Commando rifles, shortened version of the US-made M-16A1s. There are also 13 sniper rifles in caliber 5.56mm and 7.62mm versions, an LMG (light machine gun) M240 and LMG M-60, a bazooka-like Light Antitank Weapon (LAW), submachine guns, grenade launchers, and assorted pistols. - GMANews.TV