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10 private armed group members yield in Cotabato

TEN members of a partisan armed group operating in Cotabato City surrendered to local police authorities and turned over with their high-powered weapons Thursday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, General Debold M. Sinas announced yesterday.

Sinas said the 10 led by Ambie Anso Bansil alias ‘Mama Abo’ used to belong to an armed group led by former Parang, Maguindanao Mayor Talib Abo, who along with his brother Bobby were killed in separate police anti-narcotics operations which ended up in gunbattles on January 4, 2019. The late mayor had been tagged as a ‘narco-politician’ by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The top cop said Bansil and his men yielded to officers of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) led by Major Gen. Albert Ignatius D. Ferro following a series of negotiations.

The 10 also surrendered a cache of weapons including a powerful home-made caliber 50 Barret sniper rifle with a scope and bipod, two 12-gauge shotguns, an M-130 Garand rifle, an KG-9 machine pistol, a home-made M-79 grenade launcher, a .357 caliber revolver, two .38 caliber revolvers, three rifle grenades, two 40mm lie ammunition and 16 shotgun ammunition.

Sinas said the 10 have expressed their intention to avail of the government livelihood assistance program and return to the mainstream of the society to be with their respective families.