GOVERNMENT troops seized 22 high-powered firearms buried by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Iriga City, Camarines Sur on Thursday and Friday last week, the military reported yesterday.
The Army’s 9th Infantry Division (ID) said the firearms were recovered after residents reported seeing “suspicious individuals” burying the items in a lot in Barangay Sta. Isabel in Iriga City.
“Responding to the tip, the troops patrolled the area and discovered a hut, where the owner admitted that the NPA had buried a cache of firearms but could not specify the exact location,” said 9th ID spokesman Maj. Frank Roldan.
Roldan said troops from Army units — the 9th, 49th and 83rd infantry battalions and 92nd and 93rd division reconnaissance companies — used metal detectors to identify the specific area where the firearms were buried.
The operation led to the recovery of 18 M-16 rifles, two M14 rifles, one M653 rifle, and a 12-gauge shotgun that are now under the custody of the Army’s 902nd Brigade.
Roldan said the operation was part of 9th ID’s “ongoing efforts to end insurgency and achieve lasting peace in Bicol.”
Roldan said the 9th ID leadership expressed its gratitude to the community “for its support,” emphasizing the importance of the public’s role in eliminating the threat posed by the NPA.
Asked why the rebels buried the firearms in the area, Roldan said: “Based on our assessment, they are already lacking in manpower.”
“They are having difficulty recruiting (new members), that’s why they are burying their excess firearms. There are no more issues which they can use (in their recruitment),” added Roldan.
He also noted that NPA rebels who had recently surrendered mentioned exhaustion due to the military’s relentless counter-insurgency operation and hunger as the main reasons why they returned to the government fold.
As to the number of NPA rebels operating in Camarines Sur, Roldan said: “Actually, it’s already small, it’s more or less 20.”
