A FIELD commander and 13 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)-Karialan faction surrendered to military authorities Monday, February 14, in North Cotabato, military officials said.
The 14 BIFF personalities surrendered to Colonel Jovencio Gonzales, commander of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, and Lieutenant Colonel Edgardo Vilchez Jr., 34th Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, at the battalion headquarters in Salunayan village, Midsayap, North Cotabato.
Lieutenant General Alfredo Rosario Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said one of the 14 BIFF members surrendered around 8:30 a.m. Monday, February 14, to Gonzales and handed over one rocket-propelled grenade and one M1 Garand rifle.
Rosario said the BIFF field commander and 12 other members surrendered around 10:30 a.m. Monday to Gonzales. They were accompanied by Norodin Akis and Dong Bantas, both members of the Council of Elders of Midsayap, North Cotabato.
They handed over seven Garand rifles, one Springfield caliber .30 Sniper rifle, one M14 rifle with magazine, one M-16 rifle with magazine, three caliber .45 pistols with magazines, 50 rounds of caliber .30 ammunition, nine rounds of 7.62-millimeter (MM) ammunition, 13 rounds of 6.56-mm ammunition, seven rounds of caliber .45 ammunition, and seven clip Garand magazines.
Gonzales attributed the successful surrender of the BIFF personalities to the troops of the 34IB, Midsayap police, and the intelligence operatives.
For security reasons, the identities of the BIFF surrenderers were withheld.
Major General Juvymax Uy, Joint Task Force Central commander, commended the peacemaking initiatives of the 34IB.
Uy also vowed to assist the former violent extremists in their reintegration into mainstream society.
A total of 64 BIFF personalities have surrendered to government forces in Central Mindanao Since January 2022. (SunStar Zamboanga)