Google map of Tubaran town, Lanao del Sur.
ILIGAN CITY -- A father and son tandem have surrendered to the military in Tubaran town, Lanao del Sur, saying they have been wrongly accused of being sympathizers of the Islamic State-inspired Dawlah Islamiya group, an Army official said Thursday.
Lt. Col. Ian Noel Ignes, commander of the Army’s 55th Infantry Battalion, said the father was former barangay chairmen of Matitikop while the son is the incumbent chairman who won in the 2018 barangay elections.
The duo yielded two cal. 45 handguns when they turned themselves in on July 15.
Ignes said the two voluntarily surrendered to the military to clear their names after they were suspected as supporters of the Dawlah Islamiya because of the sightings of the extremists in their barangay prior to the armed encounter between government forces and IS-inspired groups last March 11.
Three days after that encounter, four DI members were killed in nearby Pagayawan and Sultan Domalondong towns, including Owayda Benito Marohomsar, also known as Abu Dar, the reported leader of the extremist group.
Dar had reportedly replaced self-declared IS emir Isnilon Hapilon who was killed during the Marawi siege in 2017.
“These terrorists will not be brave enough to stay and encamp in one place if they are being protected by influential persons or officials,” Ignes said in a phone interview.
Brig. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, said the death of top DI-Lanao leaders and Maute brothers and the “surrender of their members and sympathizers have significantly contributed to the sustained peaceful environment in the province of Lanao del Sur."
“We continuously collaborate with local chief executives and other stakeholders to encourage other supporters or even the locals with loose firearms to surrender and submit themselves to the folds of the law in order to stop the criminalities and attain a more peaceful community”, Brawner said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Roberto Ancan, commander of the 1st Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Zampelan (the Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao Provinces), commended the efforts of the troops and the local government unit of Tubaran.
“Your 1st Infantry (TABAK) Division, in collaboration with the LGUs (local government units) and other stakeholders, remains steadfast in its commitment to attain just and lasting peace in our area of operation through our campaign against DI-Lanao group and loose firearms,” Ancan said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We also thank the local government and other stakeholders for their continued trust and support to our troops in sustaining an environment conducive for peace and development in the whole province of Lanao del Sur,” Ancan added. (PNA)
