ISABELA CITY, Basilan — The local government units (LGUs) of Isabela City and Lamitan City, and seven other towns in Basilan Province formally surrendered and turned over to the military 61 assorted loose firearms they collected from their constituents in Basilan province.

Brig. Gen. Alvin V. Luzon, commander of the 101st Infantry (Three Red Arrows) Brigade, said yesterday that the municipalities of Tuburan, Akbar, Sumisip, Maluso, Lantawan, Tabuan-Lasa, and Hadji Muhtamad in this province also turned over some loose firearms.

The formal turnover was held at Camp Luis Biel II, Barangay Tabiawan in this city with Brig. Gen. Luzon and Basilan Governor Jim Hataman-Salliman were on hand to receive the loose guns from the local chief executives in the province on Wednesday.

Luzon said the surrender of the 61 loose low and high-powered firearms was a result of their (military) strict campaign and implementation of the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Management Program of the Basilan provincial government in this province.

Additionally, Luzon said, the SALW Program is being implemented by the 101st Infantry Brigade in partnership with the Provincial Government of Basilan and national peace agencies.

Luzon believed that the program is aligned with the normalization track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The initiative is being supported by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) and various peace partners.

For his part, Gov. Salliman said the SALW program aims to curb the proliferation of loose firearms and strengthen community security in former conflict-affected areas.

These recent firearms turnover underscores the unwavering commitment of the 101st Infantry Brigade and its OPCON Units — 18th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Mark Serapion L Lagud Jr; 4th Special Forces Battalion led by Lt. Col. Adolf Ian Garceron; 45th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Franco F Baylon; and 32nd Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Edmond Lanzar; and partner agencies to promote lasting peace, reduce armed violence, and sustain development gains across Basilan.

The 101st Infantry (Three Red Arrows) Brigade continues to call on all sectors of society to actively support the SALW Program as Basilan nears a historic turning point toward a safer, more progressive, and ASG-free future.

Since March 2024, the SALW Program has successfully collected 323 high-powered and low-powered loose firearms, which are now slated for demilitarization.

This upcoming demilitarization will be conducted as part of the formal declaration of Basilan as an Abu Sayyaf Group-Free Province — a historic milestone in the island’s peace and security journey.

This effort builds on the momentum of the demilitarization of 550 firearms on 2 March 2024, and the activity was witnessed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., which has gained the national government’s full support for Basilan’s normalization and peace-building initiatives.