23 more local terrorists surrender in Maguindanao del Sur

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Another large group of combined members of the now-weakened Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) surrendered to an Army unit in Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, on Monday, August 25.

The 23 Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF members — seven of them experts in fabricating improvised explosive devices — renounced their membership in both terror groups during a symbolic surrender rite at the headquarters of the Army’s 6th Infantry Battalion in Datu Piang.

They first turned over their combat rifles, B40 anti-tank launchers, .50-caliber long-range bolt-action sniper rifles, 40-millimeter grenade launchers, and an 81-millimeter mortar to officials of the 6th IB, led by Lt. Col. Al Victor Burkley and Brig. Gen. Edgar Catu, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, before pledging allegiance to the government in the presence of local executives.

Maj. Gen. Donald Gumiran, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Tuesday, August 26, that the 23 surrendered members decided to return to the fold of the law through the intercession of Burkley, Catu, and local executives in different towns of Maguindanao del Sur, one of the five provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Former Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF commanders who had earlier surrendered also played a key role in convincing them to yield peacefully so they could be reintroduced into mainstream society and benefit from livelihood support from government agencies working with the 6th ID’s regional reconciliation program for violent religious extremists.

“We are thankful to all who helped work out the surrender of this group,” Gumiran said.

Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF are both known for fomenting hatred against non-Muslims and have been tagged in deadly bombings since 2014 that targeted buses and businesses whose owners had refused to pay “protection money.”

Units of the 6th ID deployed in Central Mindanao have secured, through backchannel dialogues, the surrender of 923 Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF members since January this year.