Troops killed wanted BIFF leader Esmael Abubakar, who carried a โฑ3 million bounty, after he opened fire on them during a raid. (John Unson)
SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao del Norte โ One of the last remaining leaders of a faction of the now-defunct Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, or BIFF, a militant group that once fueled years of violence in the southern Philippines, was killed before dawn on Sunday after opening fire on security forces attempting to serve multiple arrest warrants, military officials said.
Esmael Tingan Abubakar carried a government bounty of 3 million pesos and faced charges ranging from multiple murder to destructive arson, for which authorities had long sought him. Authorities said he died after a brief but intense firefight at his hideout in Sitio Tambak, Barangay Calsada, in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Military officials described the operation as the culmination of months of intelligence gathering following the collapse of much of Mr. Abubakar’s armed network.
Maj. Gen. Jose Vladimir R. Cagara, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, and Brig. Gen. Edgar L. Catu, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, said residents had recently alerted authorities that Mr. Abubakar had relocated from neighboring Maguindanao del Sur after more than 100 of his followers surrendered to the government beginning in January.
For years, Mr. Abubakar and his fighters operated across several municipalities in Maguindanao del Sur, including Shariff Aguak, Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Salibo and Mamasapano, areas that were once among the country’s most volatile conflict zones.
The operation involved soldiers from the 6th Infantry Division and the 601st Infantry Brigade, alongside officers from the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office and the intelligence division of the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
Military officials said security forces attempted to serve five warrants of arrest issued by Regional Trial Court Branches 14 and 15 in Cotabato City when Mr. Abubakar allegedly drew a firearm and fired at the arresting team, triggering the exchange of gunfire that fatally wounded him.
The warrants stemmed from several criminal cases, including multiple murder, multiple frustrated murder and destructive arson.
Local government officials in Maguindanao del Sur said Mr. Abubakar also faced separate extortion complaints filed by Moro traders. They accused him of demanding money from businesses and of protecting large-scale traffickers of shabu, or methamphetamine, and marijuana in exchange for payments โ allegations that authorities said reflected the increasingly criminal character of remnants of the once-insurgent organization.
Security forces took Abubakar to Cotabato Sanitarium General Hospital in Sultan Kudarat, where physicians declared him dead on arrival.
His death marks another setback for the remnants of the BIFF, whose influence has steadily diminished in recent years as military operations, surrenders, and the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region have weakened armed groups that rejected the Philippine government’s peace process.
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