16 insurgents surrender in Mindanao

 From the Mindanao Examiner (Oct 15, 2021): 16 insurgents surrender in Mindanao

The Philippine military said 16 pro-ISIS militants and communist fighters surrendered in Mindanao, a hotbed of insurgency in the southern region.



Photos released by the military's Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City show the 16 members of the pro-ISIS group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and New People's rebels following their surrender on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.



Army Maj. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said eight members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters surrendered Wednesday to the 92nd Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Nathaniel Balintong, in Maguindanao’s Shariff Aguak town.

He said the militants, led by the group’s sub-leader Johar Palaguyan, also yielded four automatic rifles, one sniper rifle, one 60mm mortar and an anti-tank rocket launcher.

The militants were also presented to Brig. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, and Lt. Col. Lendsy Sinsuat, of the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office and Datu Hoffer Mayor Bongbong Ampatuan and Datu Salibo Mayor Solaiman Sandigan.

“The influx of surrender of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter combatants in Maguindanao is a manifestation of the effective implementation of the whole-of-nation approach in addressing terrorism and insurgency in the area,” Rosario said.

He added that eight New People’s Army rebels also yielded the same day to the 7th Infantry Battalion and the municipal police in Sultan Kudarat’s Bagumbayan town.

The rebels, including their leader Aley Danyan, surrendered eight shotguns, three .22-caliber rifles, one revolver, two fragmentation grenades, one pistol shotgun, and an improvised explosive device.

Rosario also released a purported statement of Danyan saying: “Pila ka tuig ko sa kalihukan pero ang gawas ako ang gipahimuslan sa CO, walay naitabang sa akoang pamilya ang organisasyon, pasaad-saad pa sila nga naay suporta sa pamilya o Supamil, pero taman lang sila sa saad. Nabiyaan nako ang akoang pamilya sa walay pulos nga hinungdan. Mao nga dako ang pasalamat nako sa 7th Infantry Battalion nga maoy nagtabang kanamo nga makagawas mi sa kalisdan ug maka pagbag-ong kinabuhi kaoban sa matag namong pamilya.”

(I have been with the (NPA) group for several years as the CO (commanding officer) and it did no good to my family. They (NPA) promised to support my family through Supamil, but it was only as a promise. We left our families for a useless cause. Now I am thankful that the 7th Infantry Battalion helped and convinced us to surrender and start a new life with our families).

Rosario said the rebels were provided an initial financial assistance from Bagumbayan Mayor Jonallete de Pedro on top of other government aids from the E-CLIP program.

E-Clip is a peace-building and social protection program that provides interventions and financial aid to those who surrender so they live peacefully with their family and become productive citizens of society.

The NPA has been waging a violent campaign for many decades now in an effort to put up a communist state in the country.

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