7 insurgents surrender in South

COTABATO CITY - The Philippine military said seven insurgents have surrendered separately to government troops in Sultan Kudarat province in Mindanao as security officials urged members of rebel groups to return to the fold of the law.

A photo released by the Western Mindanao Command shows the seven surrendered insurgents and security officials.

Army Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said four of those who surrendered on December 26 to the 40^th Infantry Battalion were members of the pro-ISIS group called Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters; one from the Daulah Islamiyah and two from the communist rebel group New People’s Army.

He said the surrenderees – one of them was a woman - also yielded two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, one Barrette rifle, one Ingram submachine gun, one round anti-tank rocket, three improvised hand grenades, two detonating assemblies, one M16 automatic rifle with plastic magazine and 20 rounds of ammunition, one handheld radio, one M79 rifle grenade, one round 40mm grenade and one .20-caliber pistol.

“The seven terror group members abandoned their armed struggle due to the intensified military operations and peace mechanisms employed by the government forces in Sultan Kudarat,” Rosario said.

“Based on the report, surrendered personalities voluntarily submitted themselves to Lt. Col. Edwin Alburo, commanding officer of the 40th Infantry Battalion at the unit’s headquarters in President Quirino town,” he added.

Alburo, in his report to Rosario, said the “the successful surrender of the seven terror group members are results of the collaborative efforts of the 40^th Infantry Battalion and Datu Paglas, Paglat, and Sultan Sa Barongis Municipal Police Stations. “We intensify our military operations as well as our peace efforts to eliminate the terror groups in our area of responsibility,” he said.

Rosario said the surenderees are currently undergoing custodial debriefing and will subsequently be enrolled in the government’s social reintegration program to ensure they will not be lured back to the culture of violence. “Our troops continue to gain ground in our campaign against terrorism, hence, we are encouraging the remaining terror group members to come out and join us in working for a peaceful and progressive Mindanao. It is better to work for peace without single bloodshed,” Rosario said.

He said since January this year, some 162 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and 154 New People’s Army rebels have surrendered to the 6^th Infantry Division. (Mindanao Examiner)