NPA guns seized in San Miguel, Surigao del Sur. (401st IB photo)
BUTUAN CITY – A New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was killed in an encounter on Wednesday noon in the hinterlands of Sitio Bulacan, Barangay Bolhoon, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur.
Col. Glenn Joy Aynera, commander of the 401st Infantry Brigade (401Bde), said in a statement Thursday that combined troops from the 75th Infantry Battalion (75IB) and the 3rd Special Forces Battalion recovered five high-powered firearms at the site.
“The operation was initiated following a tip-off from a resident who had grown weary of the presence of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) members, who reportedly extorted money and food supplies from the community,” Aynera said.
The insurgents were identified as remnants of the Regional Operations Command (ROC) of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), led by Edilberto Reponte Daval, also known as "Ka Bong" or "Wako."
Troops found the body of a certain "Ka Keroy," a member of the ROC-NEMRC, after the rebels abandoned their position.
In a separate operation on Sunday, the 401Bde reported that 75IB troops recovered materials used for fabricating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Sitio Palompon, Barangay Mahaba, Marihatag, Surigao del Sur.
The recovery included four gallons of a nitro energetic molecule. Aynera emphasized that these operations significantly reduce the capacity of CTG remnants to carry out violent actions and weaken their logistical support systems.
Meanwhile, an NPA commander surrendered to the police in Bukidnon on Tuesday, April 14.
He was the former vice commanding officer of the Front Operational Command (FOC) of the dismantled Guerilla Front 6 (Coy Thunder), Sub-Regional Committee 2 of the North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA.
The communist rebel was involved in the raid of a security agency assigned to a big farming and food plantation in Quezon, Bukidnon on Oct. 8, 2017, where 15 high-powered firearms were seized, and the abduction of two unarmed and plainclothes soldiers traveling on a motorcycle and performing administrative duties in Impasugong, Bukidnon on Aug. 22, 2014. (with PNA)