Philippines starts reintegrating former Mindanao rebels into society

MANILA - The Philippines has started the reintegration of former rebels into the society, a move Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said will bring "lasting peace" in the southern Mindanao region.

On Saturday, the chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, and interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, handed over an assault rifle to Duterte at the start of a decommissioning ceremony in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, in the southern province of Maguindanao.

Murad said the assault rifle was "a token" by MILF for its "very strong appreciation for what (Duterte) has done to the Bangsamoro people and our homeland".