A DAY after a new infantry was activated in the island province of Sulu to combat the Abu Sayyaf, seven members of the kidnap-for-ransom and extremist group turned themselves in to authorities. In a statement late Tuesday, Dec. 18, the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) said the seven men led by Darwin Ladja Basal surrendered that morning to Lt. Col. Jessie R. Montoya, commanding officer of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion. Brig. Gen. Rey Pabayo, Jr., commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said the group of Basal “surrendered through the combined efforts of the different teams of the Community Support Program and the sustained conduct of intelligence operations of the ground troops in Sulu.” The group also yielded various firearms. “We are confident that more Abu Sayyaf members will decide to cross the line and return to the folds of the law with our campaign to resolve the internal conflict in Sulu through peaceful means. Nevertheless, the Western Mindanao Command will not rest on its laurels but will, instead, continue with its combat and intelligence operations to defeat hardcore members of the terrorist group in Sulu,” said WesMinCom head Lt. Gen. Arnel B. Dela Vega. Since early this year, the WesMinCom has been reporting on the surrender of Abu Sayyaf members. On Monday, President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who led the activation of the 11th Infantry Division in Sulu, said, “I do not want a war. I do not want to kill Filipinos. I do not want the government to kill its own people… but there are certain developments, especially the entry of the ISIS, which have influenced the people to become more revolutionary.”

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