AFP to check if Lanao gun runners were military personnel

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The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said it will investigate if the gun runners who were involved in a fatal firefight during a buy-bust operation in Lanao del Sur were military personnel.

“Any report naman po that is given to the AFP, we'll take action on it... Sa AFP, we do not condone these activities especially naka-uniform pa,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said in a press briefing.

“With this, the proper investigation will be conducted. And if any AFP personnel is found guilty of any of these violations, we will make sure that they will, of course, take the brunt of it,” she added.

Padilla said the AFP will also check if the items recovered from the operation belong to military personnel.

According to her, the AFP will coordinate with concerned agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP) regarding the matter.

On June 22, a barangay chairperson was killed after the buy-bust operation of the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) against gun runners in Lanao del Sur.

Police said the barangay chairman was one of the targets of the operation.

Recovered items were three M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, two .45 caliber handguns, and marked money inside the suspects’ vehicle.

The CIDG said at least six suspects managed to escape.

The team on the ground, some of whom were wearing body cameras, described the gun runners as wearing military uniforms. —VAL, GMA Integrated News

This article AFP to check if Lanao gun runners were military personnel was originally published in GMA News Online.