18 Bilaans recruited by Pentagon gang yield

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Eighteen unschooled ethnic Bilaans recruited by the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang last December voluntarily turned themselves in to authorities in Malungon, Sarangani the other day, claiming they were duped into joining a rebel front that would fight for their culture and ancestral lands.

Army Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the 18 Bilaans, all from Barangay Tandang, a hinterland area in Malungon, surrendered and decided to avail themselves of the government’s reconciliation program through the joint efforts of the National Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the provincial government of Sarangani and the Army’s 601st Brigade.

Ando, citing feedback by police and military intelligence units in Sarangani, said the Bilaans surrendered after learning that their recruiters were members of the Pentagon and were even planning to use their barangay as harboring area for wealthy victims the syndicate intend to snatch from nearby towns. — John Unson