Eight members of a Muslim rebel group planning to bomb a public park and a shopping mall in the Philippine capital have surrendered, a Marine general said yesterday. Major-General Benjamin Dolorfino said the military learned about the plot to plant crude bombs in Rizal Park and a popular shopping mall in Manila’s financial area from the members of the Abu Sayyaf group who voluntarily turned themselves in on May 1. “They were ready to attack and were just waiting for their leaders to order them to carry out the bombings,” he said. Dolorfino said the eight men were part of a larger group of 38 Abu Sayyaf militants dispatched to the capital to plan attacks on shopping malls, public parks and the transport network, including commuter buses, trains and ferries. He did not say why the men gave themselves up or the whereabouts of the other members of the group.