12 BIFF militants yield in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY – Twelve members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters surrendered Wednesday to the police and military authorities in the restive Muslim province of Maguindanao in southern Philippines, officials said.

 

Photos released by the military's Western Mindanao Command show the surrendered BIFF members with their weapons and posing with military officials on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province. 

Officials said the militants, whose group split with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, also handed over their firearms – automatic and sniper rifles, sub-machine guns, rifle grenade launchers, including an anti-tank rocket launcher with ammunition. 

Army Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said BIFF sub-leader Anwar Pegas, and his deputy Zukarno Sailila and 10 of their fighters surrendered to Lt. Col. Edwin Alburo, commander of the 40th Infantry Battalion at their headquarters in the village of Kabengi in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town. 

Rosario, quoting the report of Col. Oriel Pangcog, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, said the surrender of the militants was the result of the collaboration between the military, the municipal police and the government. 

“During the initial debriefing, the ex-BIFF members revealed that they were experiencing hardships and starvation while evading the operations conducted by the armed forces. They also realized that they were lured with false ideologies that affected themselves and their fellow Filipinos hence their withdrawal of support to the group,” said Rosario. 

“We continue to gain ground and this is attributable to the concerted efforts of the military troops, our partners, and stakeholders. I, personally, would like to urge those who are still hiding to cross the line. We are more than willing to welcome and assist you in your reintegration into mainstream society,” he added. 

Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the 6^th Infantry Division and the Joint Task Force Central (Mindanao), said the influx of surrenders manifests the continuous dwindling of the terrorist groups in Central Mindanao. “We are optimistic that these groups, including the BIFF-Karialan Faction, are nearing its end,” he said, adding at least 97 BIFF members have surrendered in central Mindanao the past three months. 

The BIFF, which opposed the MILF peace talks with Manila, continues to fight for the establishment of a separate Islamic state in the South. The MILF under Murad Ebrahim eventually signed a peace treaty with the Philippine government in March 2014, ending decades of bloody war in Mindanao. Ebrahim was then appointed as regional governor and other senior MILF officials holding key positions in the autonomous government. (Mindanao Examiner)