Sayyaf men surrender in groups; 2 more slain

ZAMBOANGA CITY – With the success of military operations and the surrender of more bandits, officials have expressed confidence they can beat the June 30 deadline to finish off the Abu Sayyaf.

”The number of surrenderees is unprecedented,” Col. Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman, said yesterday, noting that  bandits were surrendering in groups in Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.

”(Surrenderees) are giving us critical pieces of information such as the location of their cohorts,” Arevalo said.

He said military offensives  have diminished the strength of the bandits by more than half since February.

Arevalo cited the recent operation in Basilan that left 20 bandits dead, which he credited to information provided by the surrenderees.

Two more bandits were slain in an encounter with government troops in Barangay Sandah, Patikul, Sulu on Tuesday. 

Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, said soldiers recovered three M16 rifles from the fatalities.

Musa Jamil Alsid, 19, and Mohammad Waddang Udding, 20, residents of Barangay Pitogo, Kalingalang Caluang, surrendered to the 2nd Special Forces Battalion led by  Lt. Col. Gaspar Panopio in Patikul Hill, Kalingalang Caluan, Sulu also on Tuesday.

Sobejana said Alsid and Udding, followers of slain Abu Sayyaf leader Alhabsy Misaya, yielded an M16 rifle.

At least 81 Abu Sayyaf bandits have been killed, 50 surrendered and 18 arrested since January, said Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Western Mindanao Command chief.

Galvez said 70 firearms were also recovered from the bandits.

Among those recently arrested was Sahid Mohammad Alip, 18, who was driving his motorcycle when pulled over at a military checkpoint in Barangay Muti in Zamboanga. He reportedly yielded a caliber .45 pistol and ammunition.

Alip is said to be a member of the group led by Jamuil Nasalon, alias Abu Harris, that is operating in Basilan and parts of Zamboanga.

Alip, who has a standing warrant of arrest for murder, was also tagged in the strafing of a Rural Transit bus that wounded eight passengers in Barangay Muti on Feb. 27.  

Galvez said military offensives are at ”full throttle” with less than two months before the deadline.

He said military operations are also supported by local officials, the Moro National Liberation Front in Sulu and Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Basilan.– With Jaime Laude