GOVERNMENT troops seized a hideout of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) during a patrol in Candelaria town in Zambales, a Philippine Army unit reported yesterday.
The hideout was found abandoned in the hinterlands of the town by troops of the Army’s 3rd Mechanized Battalion and 84th Infantry Battalion last Thursday, the Nueva Ecija-based 7th Infantry Division said.
The camp, believed to be owned by the Komiteng Larangang Guerrilla -Tarlac-Zambales (KLG-TarZam), was found as a result of the Army’s “focused military operations to locate and fix the enemy,” the 7th ID said.
“Our troops found food containers and torn pieces of CTG’s (communist terrorist group) propaganda materials in the area,” said 7th ID commander Maj. Gen. Andrew Costelo.
“The place must be the KLG-TarZam’s cooking area or their drop-off point. Nevertheless, its recovery is vital to weaken the operations of the enemy in Zambales,” added Costelo.
The troops recovered in the area food containers and torn NPA propaganda materials.
Zambales has declared the NPA as persona non grata in the province. The declaration, coupled with the military’s intensified counter-insurgency operation, has left the NPA significantly weakened in the province.
Meanwhile, 150 members of the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) have withdrawn their support to the NPA last Friday in Samal town in Bataan, the 7th ID also reported yesterday.
