Five Abu Sayyaf members surrender in Sulu

SULU: Five Abu Sayyaf members have voluntarily surrendered in the southern Philippine of Sulu.

The five were identified as their aliases, namely Amah Andin under Abu Sayyaf senior leader Radullan Sahiron; Baring, 31; Latip, 32; Kayser, 34; and Boy Maha, 36; all under slain Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Sibih Pisih.

They also handed over two M1 Garand rifles and three caliber .45 pistols, according to a statement from the Philippine Army's 11th Infantry Division).

The surrenders were through the efforts of the Talipao Municipal Task Force in Ending Local Armed Conflict (MTF-ELAC) and were presented to Joint Task Force (JTF) Sulu Commander Maj. Gen. Ignatius N. Patrimonio in Talipao town, on August 1, 2022.

During the interview,? Amah recounted his hardship with Radullan’s group of how they often moved from one place to another just to evade government forces, longed to be with his family and his realisation of their useless cause.?

He also noted that the Abu Sayyaf bandits can no longer consolidate and no longer have the support of the community, prompting him to go back to the fold of the law.

Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Eugenio C. Boquio, the commander of the 1101st Infantry Brigade, credited the voluntary surrender of the ASG members to the collaborative efforts of the Talipao MTF-ELAC, 2nd Special Forces Battalion of JTF Sulu and the intelligence community.?

Talipao Mayor Nivocadnezar I. Tulawie said the Abu Sayyaf returnees will be helped under the Local Social Integration Programme, which is a joint programme of Sulu Local Government Units and JTF Sulu.

Patrimonio lauded the convergence of efforts that led the Abu Sayyaf returnees to peace.

“As we remain steadfast in our campaign to end terrorism in Sulu, we appeal to those remaining Abu Sayyaf members to lay down their firearms, go back to the fold of the law, avail the government’s reintegration programme and be with their families,” said Patrimonio.