CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao (PNA) – Five demoralized members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) yielded to authorities in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, the military here reported Wednesday.
Col. Pedro Balisi Jr., chief of the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade (MIB), said the five surrenderers belonged to the group of Commander Copra under the BIFF - Karialan faction operating in the peripheries of the province.
“They realized that they were fighting for a futile cause, leading to their surrender,” Balisi said of the BIFF batch that formally yielded at the 1MIB headquarters in Ampatuan town on Tuesday afternoon.
The surrenderers also yielded six firearms – three sniper rifles, an M16 rifle, an M14 rifle, and an M79 grenade launcher – as witnessed by Ampatuan Mayor Bai Leah Sangki.
“We just grew tired of fighting and want to live normal lives. We’d like to see our families and see our children grow without fear from anything,” Khalid, one of the surrenderers, told reporters in an interview here Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), said since he assumed leadership of the 6ID in September last year, some 200 BIFF have surrendered to them through coordinated efforts with local government units.