Bacolod City – Army soldiers and policemen have discovered and seized assorted guns, explosives, and communication equipment of the New People’s Army, in series of follow up operations over-the-weekend in Calatrava and Himamaylan, Negros Occidental.
Acting on information relayed by civilians, troopers of the 79th Infantry Battalion, troopers of the PNP Special Action Force, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6 and 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company, retrieved a hidden arms cache of the remnants of the dismantled NPA Northern Negros Front in Sitio Bandol, Brgy. Maaslob, Calatrava, Negros Occidental.
Army spokesperson 1Lt. Analyn Lonjawon disclosed that government troops recovered an M14 assault rifle with a magazine containing ammunition, four magazines of M16 rifle, several clips for M1 Garand rifle, three commercial two-way radios, and subversive documents.
Troopers of the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office also recovered a hand grenade, a homemade shotgun, a medical kit containing assorted medicines and needles for acupuncture, as well as personal belongings, in Sitio Sakasak, Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, also on Saturday.
The recovered war materials are believed to have been left behind by about 10 NPA rebels encountered by 94th Infantry Battalion soldiers on July 7 in Sitio Pangi, Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City.
A still unidentified NPA member also died on Friday, in a series of encounters with 94th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Pangi, Brgy. Carabalan, Himamaylan City, according to Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, 94IB commander.
Pursuing Army soldiers also discovered more bloodstains along the rebel withdrawal routes, which indicated that more rebels were injured in the series of gunbattles, Almonte said.
Aside from the cadaver of slain rebel, Army soldiers also recovered a Remington R4 assault rifle, two backpacks containing extortion letters, and personal belongings at the three encounter sites.
Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Visayas Command (VISCOM) chief, said that there will be no let up in their focused operations against NPA remnants in Negros Island.
“We will never stop until justice is served for our people, and just and lasting peace in this part of the country is achieved,” Arevalo said, in a statement issued by the VISCOM. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)
