Bandit surrenders in Basilan

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — An Abu Sayyaf bandit surrendered to the Army Special Forces in Basilan over the weekend.

The bandit, who turned himself in to the Army’s 4th Special Forces Battalion (SFB) in Barangay Cabunbata in Isabela City, yielded a grenade launcher and a projectile.

Lt. Col. Alex Ampati, commander of the 4th SFB, led his men in a ceremony marking the bandit’s surrender.

The surrenderee, whose name was withheld, told authorities he learned about how his former comrades were reintegrated into the civilian life and the community.

Members of the Basilan provincial peace and order council said there are only 12 to 15 Abu Sayyaf bandits remaining in Basilan.

More than 200 bandits surrendered to authorities in the past three years after the provincial government launched the Program Against Violent Extremism.

The 4th SFB, the Basilan provincial government and the office of the congressional representatives in the province are facilitating the return of the bandits to mainstream society.