CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Philippine military on Monday renewed its calls on pro-ISIS militants in the troubled southern region of Mindanao to return to the fold of the law and live peacefully with their family.
Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, made the calls following the recent surrender of two militants – Camal and Marcos Makalao – in Lanao del Sur’s Lumbatan town.
The duo also handed over their automatic rifle to Lt. Joseph Galapia, commander of Bravo Company of the 55th Infantry Battalion in the village of Tambac.
“To the remaining members of the different threat groups, this is the best time for them to lay down their arms and return to the folds of the law for the chance of living a peaceful life and a brighter future,” Dela Vega said.
He said the surrender of the militants, who are members of the Dawlah Islamiya, was the result of the military’s continuous implementation of community support programs in partnership with local governments and constant dialogue with the relatives of members of local terrorist groups in the region.
Last week, an 18-year old fighter of the Maute Group, Asnor, also surrendered to the 49th Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Edgar Allan Villanueva in the town of Butig in Lanao del Sur.
Asnor confessed to have actively engaged in battling government troops in the province and told army interrogators that he was 14 when recruited by militant leader Abdullah Maute in 2014 along with a dozen children to fight for a separate Muslim homeland.
The fate of the young fighters was still unknown, but the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf fighters occupied Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur, last year in an effort to declare a caliphate, but security forces battled militants numbering about 200 for five months ending the deadly siege. (Mindanao Examiner)
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