4 more Abu Sayyaf men surrender in Basilan
TIMRA Reports • 17:45 PM Mon Jul 18, 2022
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By:
John M. Unson
COTABATO CITY - Four more members of the Abu Sayyaf terror group in Basilan surrendered over the weekend, the Bangsamoro regional police said Monday.
Brig. Gen. Arthur Cabalona of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region said the four men, whose real names were withheld pending relocation to safe areas, yielded through the joint intercession of the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion, the Basilan provincial police and emissaries of local officials.
The four men turned in their rifles before renouncing their membership with the group during a simple rite at the headquarters of the 18th IB in Lamitan City on Saturday.
Cabalona said the 18th IB and the 101st Infantry Brigade were key players in convincing the four men to return to the fold of law.
More than 300 Abu Sayyaf members in Basilan, a component-province of the Bangsamoro region, bolted from the group in batches in the past five years.
They have all been reintroduced to mainstream society by local executives, among them Gov. Jim Salliman and Congressman Mujiv Hataman.