6 more renounce membership with BIFF 

COTABATO CITY --- Six more members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, all from a group that extorted “protection money” from traders, surrendered in Upi, Maguindanao del Norte Tuesday.

Major Gen. Roy Galido, commander of the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division, said Wednesday the group yielded and turned over firearms through the intercession of the 57^th Infantry Battalion and local executives in Upi and in nearby South Upi in Maguindanao del Sur.

Galido declined to identify the six BIFF members pending relocation to areas far from reach by former companions in the group.

The BIFF has a reputation for attacking members who have surrendered to the government and their families.

“They shall be reintegrated to mainstream society and provided with socio-economic support by different government agencies and other benefactors,” Galido said.

The surrender of the five BIFF members came two days after 44 other members of the group, seven of them experts in fabrication of improvised explosive devices, pledged allegiance to the government on Sunday in Kabacan town in Cotabato province.

The group, seven of them well-versed in manufacturing improvised explosive devices, agreed to avail of the reconciliation program for religious extremists of the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division via the intercession of officials of the 90^th Infantry Battalion and the 602^nd Infantry Brigade.

More than 200 members of the BIFF, the Dawlah Islamiya and the Al-khobar have surrendered in batches to units of 6^th ID in the past 10 months.