President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has instructed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) top brass to conduct an internal investigation on the government-produced ammunition that were recovered from the Ampatuans.

The AFP must explain how government- produced ammunition found their way into the Ampatuan clan's private arsenal and who were responsible for this apparent diversion, Director Pepito Bauto of the Bureau of Government Arsenal in Bataan, said.

Bauto made the statement after Philippine National Police (PNP) Director for Operations Andres Caro II reported that a truck loaded with 330,000 bullets for M-16s was recovered from the Ampatuans.

"Last year, we supplied 9.4 million rounds of 5.56 ammunition straight to the military's J-4 (or logistics office of the AFP)," Bauto said, referring to the ammunition used in the standard government issue M-16 assault rifle.

Aside from 5.56 ammunition, the Bataan ammunition facility also makes a limited number of 7.62 rounds, the standard ammunition caliber for NATO member forces. This year, the facility is targeting to produce 1.5 million rounds of 5.56 bullets.

AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said the military has “operational control” over the ammunition even if the Department of National Defense (DND) has administrative powers over the production.

Former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., now Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate, said a quick scan of the records would determine the details of the huge number of firearms found in the possession of the Ampatuan clan.

He said records at the DND and the AFP would reveal the type of firearms, year, and month of their release and issue, and the identities of the releasing and issuing officials

“If the government is really interested in finding out the military personnel responsible for providing the Ampatuan clan with its huge arm cache, all the investigators have to do is to check the corresponding lot numbers in the cases,” he said.

Teodoro said that if government weapons fall into the wrong hands, the officers supervising the civilian armed groups will be held responsible for the loss and can be charged before a military court.

Meanwhile, Director General Jesus Verzosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that the firearms and ammunition seized in the past few days in Maguindanao represent only about 20 percent of the armory of the Ampatuan clan alone.

Nearly 900 handguns and high-powered firearms have been confiscated by joint police and military operatives. Most of them were dug up last week some 300 meters away from the house of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. in Shariff Aguak. Some of the boxes containing the ammunition and firearms contained PNP and DND markings.

Verzosa said they are now relying on information given by local residents in their search for other arms caches. He said police intelligence reports say that firearms still hidden in various parts of Maguindanao and nearby areas number some 4,000. (Elena L. Aben and Aaron Recuenco)