ISABELA CITY, Philippines — Their lives were troubled with misguided Islamic militancy and so they changed for good to start again via mainstream literacy.
More than 40 former members of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan on Thursday completed a government Alternative Learning System program as part of their reintroduction into mainstream society.
The former bandits, mostly minors, were awarded certificates of course completion during a graduation rite with around 500 other learners on Thursday at the gymnasium of the Basilan State College in Isabela City.
More than 200 Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan have surrendered in the past three years through the joint intercession of Gov. Jim Salliman, the Western Mindanao Command and the governor then of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Mujiv Hataman, now congressman in Basilan.
Among the graduates of the accelerated study course is Moton Indama, a former commander of the Abu Sayyaf.
Indama and his followers operated along seaside villages in Basilan, where they extorted money from residents.
He was one of the Abu Sayyaf members who surrendered in exchange for an assurance of free education through the Program Against Violent Extremism, or PAVE.