Lt. Col. Ronaldo Valdez, commanding officer of the Army’s 73rd Infantry Battalion (IB). (Photo courtesy of the 73IB)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Government troops recovered over the weekend a high-power firearm and assorted ammunition reportedly stashed by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the upland villages of Malapatan town, Sarangani province.
Lt. Col. Ronaldo Valdez, commanding officer of the Army’s 73rd Infantry Battalion, said the munitions were unearthed in separate locations in Barangays Sapu Masla and Upper Suyan in Malapatan.
Valdez said government troops initially found on Saturday morning a total of 490 7.62-mm or M14 ammunition at a portion of Sitio Mahayag, Barangay Upper Suyan.
The official said it was discovered based on revelations from a former NPA combatant identified as Marcko Simon alias “Tarzan,” who surrendered in the area on Feb. 27.
The returnee was also responsible for the recovery last Feb. 29 of an AK47 and two M16 rifles that were also stashed by the rebels, he added.
“The ammunition was reportedly owned by the NPA’s Guerilla Front Tala (71) and stored in the site by an alias Yoyong last December,” Valdez said in a statement.
On Sunday morning, he said government soldiers also unearthed a caliber 5.56mm M16 rifle with four magazines and 82 ammunition in Sitio Salyan, Barangay Sapu Masla. The firearm was located through accounts from another rebel returnee identified as alias “Willie,” he said.
Valdez said the recovered items could have been intended for planned atrocities in connection with the NPA’s 51st founding anniversary on Sunday. (PNA)
