RECOVERED. Following a tip from residents in the area, soldiers of the Army's 36th Infantry Battalion recover food supplies belonging to communist rebels in a remote village in Madrid town on Wednesday (October 16, 2019). (Photo courtesy of 36IB)
BUTUAN CITY – Government troops belonging to the Army's 36th Infantry Battalion uncovered a food depot of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in a remote area in Surigao del Sur.
1Lt. Jonald D. Romorosa, 36IB civil-military operations officer, said the food depot was discovered inside a cave in Sitio Nakatindog, Barangay Bayogo, in Madrid town on Wednesday.
Romorosa said the discovery was made possible through the information provided by a former rebel who surrendered to the government and with the support of the civilians in the area.
He said the recovered food supplies consisted of rice and other foodstuffs.
Based on the accounts of residents who helped the Army recover the items, Romorosa said the food cache was stored by the NPAs in the area for future use as they move around to avoid government forces.
He said the food supplies belong to the Guerilla Front 30 of the NPA's North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), which is considered by the military as a weakened guerilla unit.
Lt. Col. Jezreel Diagmel, 36IB acting commander, said Thursday the support of the civilians to government troopers "indicates the dwindling grip of the NPA (on) the people" in the area.
“The capture of the said supplies is a significant blow to their compartmentalized and restricted movement. We were able to successfully do this due to the increasing shift of former rebel support in favor of the government,” Diagmel said. (PNA)
