7 ‘terrorists’ surrender in Maguindanao

SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao – Seven suspected terrorists belonging to a group tagged in bomb attacks surrendered to the military in this province on Monday.

The surrenderees, who were members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), turned over assorted firearms to the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT), according to Brig. Gen. Eduardo Gubat, acting chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID).

The BIFF has been blamed for bomb attacks in Central Mindanao since 2014.

The military withheld the identities of the surrenderees for fear that the BIFF might harm their families.

“We will reintroduce them to mainstream society with the help of different benefactors,” Gubat said.

The surrenderees pledged allegiance to the government in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the 1st BCT in Barangay Pigkalagan in this town.

More than 300 members of the BIFF and its ally, the Dawlah Islamiya, have surrendered to the 6ID in the past three years.

Gubat said local officials helped persuade the seven “terrorists” to return to the fold of the law.