Indama’s follower surrenders to troops in Basilan

By Jong Cadion

ZAMBOANGA CITY (May 9, 2017) - A member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) under top leader Furudji Indama, who is listed under the Periodic Status Report of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, yielded to the troops of the Joint Task Force Basilan in Ungkaya Pukan on Sunday (May 7), military official said.

Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) Information Officer Cpt Jo-Ann D. Petinglay disclosed that the urban terrorist and Abu Sayyaf member Hussin Asrap Wahid, a.k.a. Ottoh Wahid or Jay Pilmita, 28 years old and a resident of Sitio Bato Maputi, Barangay Baguindan, Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, surrendered to the troops of the 18th Infantry Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Philippine Army at 3pm Sunday.

Also surrendered to the troops by the said Abu Sayyaf member was his Caliber .45 pistol.

Cpt. Petinglay said that Wahid underwent custodial debriefing conducted by the troops of the Joint Task Force Basilan under Colonel Juvymax Uy at the headquarters of the 18th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Camalig, BohePahu, Ungkaya Pukan.

“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 Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., Commander of the WestMinCom.

“The armed forces further encourage other members of the Abu Sayyaf to surrender to the troops as we continue to counter terrorism and sustain the internal peace in Mindanao,” added Lieutenant General Galvez.

As of this report, there are a total of 41 Abu Sayyaf bandits who have laid down their arms. Of this number, five have yielded to the government forces in Sulu, 25 in Basilan, and 11 in Tawi-Tawi, Cpt. Petinglay added.

"We are expecting more Abu Sayyaf to surrender in Sulu and Basilan this week or next. If this will happen, we will surely reach the tipping point in our fight against the Abu Sayyaf, wherein whatever they do to the situation, they can no longer gain grounds ever again," LtGen. Galvez said.

"With the way things are going, we are affirmative that soon, ASG will no longer be able to create havoc in the society," the WestMinCom Chief adds.