Soldiers recovered a large New People's Army (NPA) arms cache in Labo town, Camarines Norte on Wednesday, April 9.
Lt. Col. Jeffrex Molina, spokesman of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the 16th Infantry Battalion under the 201st Infantry Brigade found the weapons in Barangay Exciba following information from a former communist rebel.
Molina said the stash was composed of one Ultimax light machine gun, one M-653 rifle, one M-14 rifle, seven M-16 A1 rifles, 14 magazines, 16 hand grenades, two rolls of detonating cord, 4,211 rounds of 5.56mm live ammunition, and 715 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.
Major Gen. Cerilo Balaoro Jr., 2nd ID commander, said the continued recoveries of the terrorists' war items are steadily weakening the operational capability of the terrorist NPA in Southern Luzon.
It also showed the cooperation between government forces, former rebels, and the local community is working very well, he added.
The military conducted the operation with the assistance of the Labo police. On January and February, NPA war materiel were also recovered in Labo.