COTABATO CITY — The head of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) has called on Moro rebel armed groups to grab the opportunity of availing the government’s reconciliation program as the national government continued its peace approaches in the southern Philippines.

Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander and head of Joint Task Force Central (JTFC), made the appeal Tuesday to the extremist groups following a brief clash that left a sub-leader of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) killed in Maguindanao earlier this week.

"As part of the marching order of President Rodrigo Duterte, we are dedicated to putting an end to these terror groups," said Uy, appealing to the remnants of terror groups to return to the fold of the law and live a peaceful life with their families.

Zukarno Guilil, alias “Commander Motorola,” a sub-leader of the BIFF Kagi Karialan faction, was killed after he and his men clashed with government forces belonging to the 6th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Barangay Ganta, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao on December 26.

Lt. Col. Charlie Banaag, the 6IB commander, said the armed clash erupted when his men were sent to verify reports from civilians about the presence of gunmen in Barangay Ganta.

As the soldiers were approaching, they were fired upon, triggering a brief firefight until the rebels fled deep into the marshland, leaving behind the body of Guilil.

Soldiers found two grenades beside Guilil, a bomb-making expert, while his rifle was believed to be taken by his fleeing comrades.

Uy said Guilil was responsible for various attacks and bombings in Maguindanao and has several warrants of arrests for murder, multiple attempted murder, destructive arson, and violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

"The neutralization of alias Motorola gives justice to all victims of BIFF atrocities. The lead given by the residents further shows their desire for a stoppage to the terror group," Col. Pedro Balisi, commander of 1st Mechanized Brigade, the mother unit of the 6IB, said.

Uy vowed to continue hunting down the remnants of the BIFF and Dawlah Islamiya who have been attacking communities in Central Mindanao for almost a decade.