CATBALOGAN, Samar – Nineteen members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a communist rebel have returned to the fold of the law, a military report reaching here said on Tuesday.

The 19 members of the Lawless MILF Group (LMG) surrendered to the 43rd Infantry Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Juvymax Uy last May 30. The battalion is currently deployed in Mindanao but is under the 8th Infantry Division based in Samar.

Maj. Gen. Arthur Tabaquero, 8ID commanding general, said the LMG was headed by Agonto B. Baas alias Ago and Mangondatu R. Limbuna alias Black Cadre operating in Lanao del Norte.

The rebels also yielded 19 high-powered firearms including M-16 and M14 rifles, Carbines, grenade launchers, Browning Automatic Rifles and Garands.

In another development, Eugene Ponce alias Ryan, a New People’s Army member from Barangay Ipil, Danao City, voluntarily surrendered to the 78th Infantry Battalion, bringing with him a Carbine rifle.

The 78th battalion is also under the 8ID but is assigned in Cebu province.

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