100 BIFF men yield guns, surrender to gov’t
ONE-HUNDRED members of the Bangsamo Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have surrendered to the government so far this year after being convinced by officers from the Philippine National Police Intelligence Group (PNP-IG) to stop fighting, leave their weapons and return to the mainstream of the society, the Journal Group learned yesterday.
Fifty of those who yielded to the Marcos administration are now undergoing livelihood training thru the PNP-IG’s so-called Pedtabanga Tanu Project in Maguindanao aimed at helping them learn skills that would give them jobs in order to support their families, said PNP-IG Director Colonel Romeo J. Macapaz.
Literally, the former rebels have exchanged their weapons to welding machines as they are slowly learning to become expert welders to find jobs to support their respective wives and children.
The Pedtabanga Tanu Project was launched by the PNP-IG as part of its efforts to support the 2nd focus agenda of PNP chief, General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. which is ‘community engagement.’ It has been supported by the PNP Directorate for Intelligence headed by Brigadier Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr.
From January to date, members of the Regional Intelligence Unit 15 of the PNP-IG have persuaded 100 members of the BIFF Karialan and Bungos factions to return to the mainstream of the society amid its noble project.
Initiated by RIU 15 chief, Lieutenant Col. Romulo Z. Flores, the project ‘Pedtabanga Tanu’ is a Maguindanaoan term which means ‘Let us help each other.’
Officials said the name itself implies the genuine commitment of the government to help change the lives of our Muslim brothers who have gone astray after being deceived by radical preaching and belief.
The program since January this year has helped 100 BIFF members to return to their normal life and reunite with their families with high hope that the government will continue to pursue the basic needs that ought to be delivered on the grassroots level.
Through the Pedtabanga Tanu Producers Cooperative Program, the former Moro rebels will be given livelihood programs/assistance like welding materials, farm materials, free education to their children and medical assistance.
They will also be receiving a series of livelihood trainings facilitated by government agencies led by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), religious and business groups and other PNP-IG stakeholders in the Bangsamoro Administrative Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Last week, the RIU 15, in partnership with a number of multi-sectoral religious groups in the region, conducted a seminar on electrical installation and welding works for the 50 BIFF members who surrendered at the covered court of Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao del Norte.
The seminar aimed to teach the former BIFF men on the fundamentals of welding and electrical installation which could give them work to provide for their families.
At the end of their training, the ex-BIFF members were also given an initial two welding machines with eye protection. They will take turns in using the machines to enhance their welding skills.
The goal of the program is not only to provide assistance but to teach the former BIFF members new skills that will help them in their daily life.
Using the oft-quoted saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,’ the PNP-IG said they find it really worthwhile to teach the ex-BIFF men with skills to provide their families regular food on the table instead of merely holding or cleaning their guns.
The ‘whole-of-government approach’ in Maguindanao has been supported by the PNP leadership headed by General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr., himself a veteran PNP intelligence officer who used to head the PNP Directorate for Intelligence before he took over as the 29th PNP chief after being picked by President Marcos Jr. to replace now retired Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. last April 29.
For the PNP-IG, working closely with different government agencies and other stakeholders to provide the necessary things needed by the former Muslim rebels would be beneficial to all.
Its officials also stressed that social healing and unity are real means for lasting peace and better development among the Muslim people in Mindanao and ‘best practices’ like the Pedtabanga Tanu Project would really encourage members of the BIFF and other rebel groups in the region to return to the folds of the law and live a normal life with their families.
The PNP-IG has stressed its commitment to help the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict formed to achieve and long and lasting peace in the country.
Over the past six decades, the Philippine government had been facing and fighting different Moro rebel groups in Mindanao in a bloody war that has greatly affected the country’s economy and peace and order situation
These fightings have resulted in massive chaos, destruction and countless deaths not only of government forces and Muslim rebels but also innocent men, women and children.
Thus, the Unit said it is embarking on a massive effort to persuade members of Muslim rebel groups and the New People’s Army to surrender to the government and return to the society’s mainstream.
The NTF-ELCAC institutionalized the ‘whole-of-nation’ approach in tackling the insurgency and separatist problem in the country. Part of the NTF-ELCAC is the “Balik Loob Program” which provides a mechanism for former rebels who surrendered to the government to reintegrate to mainstream society.
