ILOILO City – The Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) discovered an arms cache of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Sitio Danao, Barangay Busog, Valderrama, Antique on Thursday, November 21.
The 61IB said the arms cache contains one M16 assault rifle, 20 rounds of 5.56mm live ammunition, and two long and three short magazines for M16 rifle.
It was discovered following the tip given by alias “Negro,” a former member of the Regional Headquarters Front of the Komiteng Rehiyon-Panay. Negro voluntarily surrendered to the 61IB last July 29.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Arturo Balgos of the 61IB, the firearm and ammunition were buried by the rebels.
“We are thankful to our tipster. Wala na kasi may magdadala kaya itinago nila,” Balgos said.
On the other hand, Major General Marion Sison, commander of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID), lauded the operating troops of the 61IB.
“We commended our troops for capturing the rebel arms cache in Antique. This success is also attributed to our former rebel who provided us with reliable information, leading to the seizure of the terrorist group’s high-powered firearm and other war materiel,” said Sison.
The 3ID commander underscored that the seizure of the rebels’ weapons will further weaken their capability to resurge.
“Our operations won’t stop here. We will not give them space to breathe and rise up again. Seizing their weapons is part of our effort to dismantle their support system, prevent any attempt to resurge, and ensure the safety of the people. We will continue our anti-insurgency efforts until we completely eliminate all remnants of the rebels in Panay and achieve our desired Stable Internal Peace and Security environment for all Panaynons,” Sison added./PN
