Meted death by MILF, 3 guerrillas surrender

COTABATO CITY — Three guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gave themselves up to the military the other day after the front sentenced them to death for refusing to bomb power transmission towers in the South Cotabato-Sarangani-General Santos City (Socsargen) area.

MILF rebels Ruhdi Olay and siblings Jonathan and Olvis Taiyan, who all hail from Maasim, Sarangani, turned themselves in to the Army’s 7th Special Forces Battalion (SFB).

They made the move upon learning that their leaders have marked them for execution for failing to carry out bombings of power facilities and public terminals in the Socsargen area last month.

They said they deliberately disobeyed the orders of their commanders because the bomb attacks would include civilian targets such as public markets and bus terminals.

The three guerrillas first sent surrender feelers to the 12th Special Forces Company in Maasim, which, in turn, arranged their surrender to the 7th SFB.

More than 500 MILF members have surrendered to the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and its units in Central Mindanao since the military takeover last Feb. 14, after a week-long offensive, of the MILF’s enclave in the Buliok Complex at the boundary of Pagalungan, Maguindanao and Pikit, North Cotabato.