FIVE members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have surrendered and pledged allegiance to the government over the weekend, the police said Monday.

BGen. Jimili Macaraeg, Soccsksargen Police Regional Office director, said the surrender of the BIFF fighters on Sunday was made possible after weeks of backdoor negotiations with the Sultan Kudarat police, the Army's 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, and intelligence units.

'They turned in their firearms and explosives,' Macaraeg said.

He identified the surrenderers as Montasir Bamigan, 23; Alimuden Ali, 51; Jerry Kamid, 25; Bimbo Utto, 22; and Benladin Balayman, 22, all members of the BIFF Kagui Karialan faction in Maguindanao.

They also turned over an M79 grenade launcher, a homemade Uzi machine pistol, improvised explosive devices, and ammunition.

Macaraeg said the surrenderers are now undergoing debriefing at the Sultan Kudarat police provincial headquarters in Isulan town.

Their surrender came a day after a joint police and Army team killed BIFF sub-commander Abdulkarim Lumbatan Hasim alias Commander Boy Jacket in a shootout in Tacurong City, also in this province.

Hasim was tagged as the mastermind in the murder of Lt. Reynaldo Samson, police chief of Ampatuan town, Maguindanao del Sur province in August last year.