BIFF surrenderers reunite with family

 CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – Eleven more Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) members have reunited with their families after they decided to abandon extremism and joined the government and live normal lives on Saturday, February 6. 

The surrender of 11 former extremist combatants was a joint effort of the 6th Infantry “Redskin” Battalion of the 1st Mechanized Brigade, headed by its commanding officer, Lt. Col. Charlie Banaag, the 90th Infantry “Bigkis-Lahi” Battalion of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, and the various intelligence units under the Joint Task Force Central.

The surrenderers belonging to the Karialan faction BIFF presented themselves at the Headquarters of 6th Infantry “Redskin” Battalion, Sitio Landing Fish, Brgy Buayan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao

The former BIFF members turned over one M653 A1 rifle, two M16 A1, one M16 A3, one Browning automatic rifle, one .50 caliber Sniper Rifle, one .30 caliber Sniper Rifle, one .30 caliber Garand Rifle, two M14 Rifle, and one 40mm M79 grenade launcher.

Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division and Joint Task Force Central, lauded the troops for their continuous efforts in bringing former “violent extremist” members to the folds of the government. He said, “The balance use of military and non-military efforts are being operationalized by our line units and now proven effective.”

One of the surrenderers, with an alias Anito, was emotional upon seeing his daughter who was still a year old when he left his family. He said, “Ako ay umalis noon para sumapi sa grupo ng mga armado noong maliit pa ang anak ko. Ngayon ay may apo na ako. Gusto ko lang mabuhay ng tahimik at makasama ang aking pamilya.”

The remarkable series of surrenders were made possible through the following programs of the government such as PCVE (preventing and countering violent extremism) education forums, seminars, and AGILA-HAVEN (Anak na may GInintuang LAyunin upang Hintuan Ang Violent Extremism Ngayon) that was initiated last September 2020.

Since the assumption of Maj. Gen. Uy on September 7, 2020 until present, a total of 71 BIFF members laid down their arms and went back to the folds of law. “Ang patuloy na pagbalik-loob ng mga extremists na ito sa hanay ng gobyerno ay resulta ng pagtugon sa mga pangangailangan ng kani-kanilang pamilya. Ito ay ating nakamit sa tulong ng lokal na gobyerno ng Maguindanao,” Uy stated. (DPAO)