MANILA: A total of 130 members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have surrendered to the Philippine military, Xinhua quoted the government as saying yesterday.

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro accepted the formal surrender of the MILF followers last Saturday in the Lanao del Norte province, the Philippine Department of Defence said in a Press release.

Incessant combat operations conducted by the Philippine Army in Lanao del Norte led to the surrender of the rebels, said the defence chief.

The government will keep its open-door policy to resolve conflicts in Lanao del Norte and elsewhere in the Mindanao region although the military will "hunt down those who undertake criminal activities", Teodoro added.