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10 BIFF gunmen yield to Army in Maguindanao

By Edwin Fernandez

July 25, 2020, 2:21 pm

<p><strong>SURRENDER</strong>. One of the 10 surrendering Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (right) hands over his rifle to Mayor Salik Mamasabulod during surrender rites inside the town council session hall in Pagalungan, Maguindanao on Friday (July 24, 2020). The surrenderers said they are tired of living a rebel life and wanted much to be with their families again. <em>(Photo courtesy of Pagalungan LGU)</em></p>

SURRENDER. One of the 10 surrendering Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (right) hands over his rifle to Mayor Salik Mamasabulod during surrender rites inside the town council session hall in Pagalungan, Maguindanao on Friday (July 24, 2020). The surrenderers said they are tired of living a rebel life and wanted much to be with their families again. (Photo courtesy of Pagalungan LGU)

COTABATO CITY – Tired of running away from government forces and wanting to be with their families, 10 members of Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) voluntarily surrendered with their firearms to the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade on Friday.

Lt. Col.Michael Maquilan, the Army's 90th Infantry Battalion commander, and Col. Donald Gumiran, 602nd Infantry Brigade deputy commander, led the surrender ceremony at the Sangguniang Bayan session hall of Pagalungan, Maguindanao.

The rebels turned in various high powered firearms that included sniper rifles, grenade launchers, explosives, and bomb-making components.

“We do not have peace of mind, we always run whenever we see government forces near our area of operation,” Alik Sanday, one of the surrenderers, told reporters in the vernacular.

The surrenderers all belonged to the group of Commander Gani Saligan of the BIFF Karialan faction.

In exchange for the rifles they turned over, the local government of Pagalungan gave financial aid to start their own livelihood project. (PNA)

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