Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 9) — A notorious member of the Abu Sayyaf has surrendered to authorities in Basilan, bringing the total number of bandits who have left the group to 41 since January.
The military’s Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) on Tuesday said “urban terrorist” Hussin Asrap Wahid surrendered to troops of Task Force Basilan in Ungkaya Pukan town Sunday afternoon.
Authorities recovered from Wahid a caliber .45 pistol.
The 28-year-old, also known as Ottoh Wahid or Jay Pilmita, was under the leadership of Basilan-based commander Furuji Indama, the Wesmincom said.
Indama was a leader of the bloody attack against soldiers on April 9 last year, a holiday to celebrate the Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan). Some 18 soldiers and five Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed in a 10-hour gun battle that day – the biggest single-day combat casualty suffered by government forces in the area since 2011.
Following increased military operations against the group, Armed Forces of the Philippines Spokesman BGen. Restituto Padilla said the Abu Sayyaf is now down to about 300 members from a high of 500. Most are in Jolo, Sulu.
Among the 41 who have surrendered, five did so in Sulu, 25 in Basilan, and 11 in Tawi-Tawi.
“We consider the recent surrender of another Abu Sayyaf member as a manifest of the effective combat operations sustained by the Joint Task Force Basilan against the terrorist group in the province,” said Wesmincom commander Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez, Jr.
The military is encouraging other Abu Sayyaf members to lay down their arms as well. It expects more to surrender in Sulu and Basilan in the coming weeks.
If this happens, Galvez said the the drive against the group will surely reach the tipping point and the Abu Sayyaf is unlikely to regain its strength.
The Armed Forces has promised to defeat the Abu Sayyaf and other lawless groups in Mindanao this year on orders of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The group is known for kidnapping and beheading its captives, which include both Filipinos and foreigners.
