TACLOBAN CITY - Two high-ranking officials of the New People's Army, and 7 others yielded 30 firearms following their recent surrender to the authorities.
Two of the surrenderers were identified as Normie Quilapio alias Noli, who was also the vice commander, and Adelfa Tebrero alias Messy, a political guide. Both were under GF Damol.
The Army said GF Damol plays a vital role in the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the transport and distribution of war materials and medical supplies to the different units of the organization in Eastern Visayas.
Said group also takes care of the key leaders of the Central Committee in the CPP-NPA-NDF organization.
Through the help of the new surrenderers, the government troops were able to discover the rebels’ arms cache composed of 30 high-powered firearms, 11 containers of ammonium nitrate which is an important component in making bombs, thousands of blasting caps, more than a thousand ammunition, 53 magazines, 4 grenades, and other war materials. These were discovered on March 26 in Villareal, Samar.
Five motorized boats used to transport war materials and combatants were also seized.
The Commanding Officer of the 46th Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Juanito Parazo Jr, said the discovery of war materials is a clear indication of the dwindling force of the CPP-NPA in the region.
“Dati ang GF Damol ay may maraming member pero sa ngayon nasa labing-isa na lang ang nakikita naming natitira at ang iba doon ay naglie-low na kaya ganun nalang din ang effort ng grupo ni Dori (Former Rebel) at ng gobyerno na himukin pa ang ibang kasamahan nila na sumuko at samantalahin ang programa ng gobyerno na inilaan para sa kanila upang magkaroon ng mas magandang buhay," Parazo shared.