3 Abu Sayyaf, 7 NPA members surrender to WestMinCom

Three Abu Sayyaf members and seven New People's Army rebels laid down their arms in the midst of the military's sustained operations in Western Mindanao.

Karim Abubakar, Jimboy Abubakar Aldam, and Imran Arajan Abdulajidz, members of the Abu Sayyaf Group led by sub-leader Nurhassan Jamiri, yielded to the troops of the 4th Special Forces Battalion, Special Forces Regiment-Airborne, Special Operations Command in Barangay Banah, Tipo-Tipo, Basilan at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

The trio surrendered an M16A1 rifle, a Garand rifle, and other war materiel.

Brigadier General Juvymax Uy, commander of the Joint Task Force Basilan, said the returnees were brought to the headquarters of the 4SFBn in Barangay Cabunbata, Isabela City, Basilan for custodial debriefing.

As of the time of the report, the Western Mindanao Command has facilitated the surrender of 177 Abu Sayyaf members since 2017.

For this year alone, there were 19 Abu Sayyaf members who surrendered to the Joint Task Forces in the area of responsibility. Of this record, nine yielded to the military in Basilan, eight in Sulu, and two in Tawi-Tawi.

On Saturday, an Abu Sayyaf sniper surrendered to the military in Al-Barka, Basilan.

NPAs

Meanwhile, seven NPA rebels under a certain Mac-Mac surrendered to the military troops in Maguindanao last February 12.

The returnees were identified as Godus Sintaw, 36; Arnel Dimantukay, 21; Donie Diwan, 28; Ghagha Ansag, 25; Danilo Mingkay, 25; Larry Ugalingan, 34; and Jimmy Ulangkaya, 34.

Turned over by the surrenderees were a 7.62mm M14 rifle, two M1 Garand rifles, a homemade M16 sniper rifle, a Springfield rifle, a caliber .38 revolver, a hand grenade, and a landmine.

Major General Arnel Dela Vega, commander of the Joint Task Force Central, said the returnees were also made to undergo custodial debriefing and medical checkup upon their surrender.

“We have them medically checked in order to make sure that none of them is ill. If ever there are medical conditions that need attention, we will automatically have these treated while they are under our care," he said.

Since January 1, 2017, troops have already facilitated the surrender of 146 communist terrorists (CNTs) in the WestMinCom’s joint area of operations.

From January this year to date, a total of 42 CNTs surrendered to the troops.

“We had been receiving and processing so much surrenders since last year up to the first quarter of this year,” said Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., commander of the WestMinCom. “Most often, our units are the ones being contacted by those who wish to lay down their arms.”

“This development largely reflects our intensified operations against the ASG and the CNTs, not only on focused military operations but also on the Community Support Program being implemented by our troops in the entire command,” added Galvez.

“Our units are gaining a headway and have been effective in convincing these former rebels to change their lives and have a chance to be good citizens of the community," he said.

“Your WestMinCom will sustain its intensified operations against all the enemies of the state, and we will take all means necessary to put an end to this terror menace,” added the WestMinCom chief. —KG, GMA News