CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – A bombmaker of the terror group Dawlah Islamiya (DI) has surrendered to authorities in Carmen, North Cotabato, a top military official here said Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander, said the DI member voluntarily yielded on Sunday with his rifle to Lt. Col. Rommel Mundala, 90th Infantry Battalion commander, and Col. Jovencio Gonzales, 602nd Infantry Brigade commander.
“He was a high-value target. A bomb-making expert,” Uy said without identifying the surrenderer to protect his family from possible harassment from his former colleagues.
The DI member was formally presented to Gonzales at the 602nd brigade headquarters at Camp Lucero, Carmen in North Cotabato on Monday afternoon.
“This surrender was a joint effort of the military and police forces in coordination with the local government unit of Carmen,” Gonzales said in a statement.
The surrenderer will be enrolled in the local government's DIWATA HAVEN (Dapat Iwaksi at Wakasan ang Terorismo at Armadong Pakikibaka - Hadlangan ang Violent Extremism) program.
Under the program, the surrenderer is eligible to receive livelihood packages and assistance from the government so he can live a sustainable and peaceful life with his family.