Private armed group leader in Marawi yields to police
COTABATO CITY - A leader of a private armed group, employed as a security officer in a state university, surrendered in Marawi City Wednesday, a provincial police official said.
Col. Jibin Bongcayao, director of the Lanao del Sur provincial police, said the 51-year-old Bochary Macaronsing Pamlian turned in a .45 caliber pistol before signing a document renouncing his leadership of a secret private armed group long under surveillance by state security units and law-enforcement agencies.
Bongcayao said the clandestine group led by Pamlian, who is a security guard in the Mindanao State University in Marawi City, is identified with the Dawlah Islamiya.
The Dawlah Islamiya terrorist group is tagged in deadly bombings and other acts of terror in central Mindanao in recent years.
Pamlian yielded through the efforts of the Marawi City Police Office, according to Bongcayao.
He promised to reform and help the police convince his followers to return to the fold of law during a simple rite Wednesday in Marawi City.
Bongcayao said intelligence agents of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade and personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group helped secure the surrender of Pamlian via backchannel talks.