The Ministry of the Interior and Local Government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILG-BARMM) is building a PHP25 million reformation center in Sulu to help turn former Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits into productive citizens.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, MILF minister, said Monday the construction of the center in Barangay Langhub, Patikul, Sulu, is part of the commitment of BARMM in sustaining peace in Mindanao.
Sinarimbo said the center is part of the commitment of the Western Mindanao Command and Patikul municipality “as we join them in rebuilding the lives of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members who returned to the fold of law.”
The facility will serve as a skills training center, where the ideological belief reorientation of the former ASG bandits will also take place, he added.
“We believe that the long term solution is providing them a new (correct) perspective of the interpretation of their religious belief,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Benjamin Batara, the Army's 1103rd Infantry Brigade commander, said some 800 ASG members have returned to the fold of the law.
“The existence of a reformation center is very important to the campaign or efforts of our soldiers, local government and other agencies,” Batara said.
Barangay Langhub was a known stronghold of the ASG, and used to be inaccessible even to the military because of the ASG's heavy group’s presence.
Source: Philippines News Agency