ZAMBOANGA CITY, 2 July 2003 — Sixteen members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have surrendered over the weekend in the southern town of Malabang in Lanao del Sur province, the military said yesterday. They handed over a dozen automatic rifles and four handguns to the 67th Infantry Battalion, according to Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, civil relations chief of the military’s Southern Command.
“The rebels have been placed under interrogation and would be given amnesty under the government’s Balik-Baril (Money-for-weapon’s) program,” he said.
There have been no reaction so far from MILF officials but spokesman Eid Kabalu have repeatedly dismissed previous surrender reports as mere propaganda by the government.
Those who have surrendered are either “bogus” separatists or recycled surrenderers being used by corrupt politicians and military officials to make money, Kabalu had said.
Meanwhile, troops yesterday said they have recovered landm ines planted by suspected MILF fighters on a village where security forces frequently pass in Maguindanao province.
