ARMS CACHE. The 61st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army recovers various ammunitions in the temporary hideout of the Southern Front of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army- National Democratic Front in Barangay Onop, Miagao, Iloilo Sunday (Feb. 13, 2022). The hideout has been cleared and will be subjected to the constant monitoring of the Philippine Army. (Photo courtesy of 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office)
ILOILO CITY – Information from a former rebel resulted in the discovery of a temporary hideout and stash of various ammunitions owned by the Southern Front of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) in Barangay Onop, Miagao, Iloilo on Sunday.
One of the six rebels who surrendered after the encounter with government troops on Dec. 1, 2021 revealed the location, said Lt. Col. Harold Garcia, commander of the Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) with jurisdiction over the area where the hideout was discovered.
“The locations were positive that’s why we recovered these items,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.
Among the recoveries were 27 magazines of the AK-47 rifle, eight rounds of 40 millimeters (mm) high explosive (HE) ammunition, and approximately 100 kilos of rice.
Barangay Onop is about three to four kilometers away from Barangay Alimodias, the site of the Dec. 1 encounter, and is believed to be one of their hideouts around two months before the encounter.
“This will have a big impact on the armed group because gradually their hideouts and ammunitions are revealed. It will demoralize their group, their strength is affected and their operation has weakened as a result of our recoveries,” Garcia added.
He said they expect more rebels to surrender this month since other members of the armed movement are on low morale following the Dec. 1 operation.
Currently, Garcia said they could no longer feel the presence of the CPP-NPA because they have already dispersed.
The hideout has been cleared and will be subjected to the constant monitoring of the Philippine Army.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The NDF has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA)
