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John Unson - Philstar.com
August 1, 2026 | 6:33pm
Army Brig. Gen. Edgar Catu inspects the 40 millimeter grenade launcher turned over to him by the leader of the eight members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters during their surrender on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Eight more followers of a terror group leader killed in a shootout with policemen and soldiers last month, all experts in fabricating home-made bombs, surrendered to an Army unit in Maguindanao del Sur on Thursday, July 30, and together promised to reform for good.
All of them were henchmen of Esmael Abubakar, top leader of the now defunct Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, also known in Central Mindanao as “Bongos,” who was killed last July 5 in a brief clash, which he provoked, with a team of policemen and soldiers out to serve him then multiple warrants of arrest at his hideout in Barangay Calsada in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Major Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Saturday that the eight terrorists agreed to avail of the 6th ID’s regional reconciliation program for violent religious extremists through the joint intercession of the commanding officer of the 90th Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. Loqui Marco, Catu and his subordinate-officers in the 601st Infantry Brigade and mayors in different towns in Maguindanao del Sur.
The eight BIFF members first turned in their combat weapons, including 40-millimeter grenade and B40 rocket launchers and improvised explosive devices to officials of the 90th IB before they pledged allegiance to the government on Thursday in Barangay Kabengi in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao del Sur, in the presence of local executives and Catu and local executives.
Local executives and traditional Moro datus in Maguindanao del Sur’s Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Shariff Aguak, Datu Unsay and Datu Salibo towns have separately confirmed to reporters that all of the eight BIFF members are well-versed in assembling powerful IEDs that can be detonated from a distance using mobile phones.
Two of the eight terrorists, Hamodi Salik Anding and Monib Nasser Gundam, admitted their involvement in the BIFF's collection of “protection money” from Muslim and Christian merchants on a periodic basis, threatening to bomb their establishments if they refused to provide cash, as ordered by their leaders, who had surrendered ahead of them in recent months.
Cagara said the social services and public order and safety ministries of the Bangsamoro regional government and mayors present at Thursday's surrender ceremony had provided the eight men with essential relief supplies and cash which they need in their return to their hometowns to get reunited with their families.
