(Eagle News) — The weapons that were used to take out Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute were the ones issued by the Russians to the Philippines for free only recently.
This is according to President Rodrigo Duterte, who spoke during the oath-taking ceremony of PDP-Laban members in Bicol on Tuesday.
“Sniper (weapons) nila were of great help. A distance of about 1 kilometer. Yan ang nakakuha sa dalawa noong madaling araw,” he said, referring to the the local terrorist leaders who were killed early Monday morning.
Hapilon and Maute led the terrorist group that overran Marawi in May in a bid to establish an Islamic State caliphate in Mindanao.
Last week, the President revealed the Russians had donated 5000 Kalashnikov guns and 20 military trucks.
It was unclear though if the weapons that the President said were used to take out the terrorist leaders came from this supply.
The President had said the donation was the “fruit” of his trip to Moscow, Russia in May.
When Duterte assumed office last year, he criticized America for interfering in the country’s affairs, saying he would pivot toward China and Russia instead.
