Several guns, mortar weapon seized in Caraga

Ruth Palo

Editor

posted on 1 year ago — updated on 1 second ago

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DAVAO CITY- Troops from the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City seized five firearms, a mortar weapon, and other war materiel during a series of surrenders by members of a communist terrorist group (CTG) and the discovery of arms caches in the Caraga region over the weekend.

Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Garello, spokesman of 4th ID reported that their troops successfully discovered two separate arms caches in the vicinity of Old Marang and Old Decoy, both located in Sitio Panukmoan, Brgy. Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur on November 8 and 9, 2024 following a tip from a former NPA rebel.

He said the discovered arms caches contained various war materiel and armaments, including a .50 caliber sniper rifle, a 60mm mortar, a .30 caliber Browning machine gun, magazines, and several live ammunition rounds.

It can be recalled that on November 7, three members of the Sub-Regional Sentro De Gravidad (SRSDG) Southland and the Regional Sentro De Gravidad (RSDG) from the NorthEastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) surrendered to the 75th Infantry Battalion (75IB).

One of the surrendering individuals, who served as a political guide, disclosed the location of one of the arms caches. In a separate event, another former political guide also surrendered to the same unit on September 21 and revealed the location of another arms cache.

Meanwhile, on November 10, another three (3) CNTs yielded to the 29th Infantry Battalion in Brgy. Del Pilar, Cabadbaran City, Agusan de Norte bringing three low-powered firearms composed of two Caliber .45 pistols and one Caliber 9mm M11 Sub Machine Gun. On the same day, another two CNTs returned to the folds of the law facilitated by the 30th Infantry Battalion in Brgy. Mahanub, Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte.

4th ID commander Major General Jose Maria R. Cuerpo II, emphasized that recent accomplishments have significantly weakened the capabilities of the CTG to carry out violent acts. He noted that these successes support the 4ID's ongoing campaign to dismantle the CTG, aligning with the goal of ending the local communist armed conflict within its area of responsibility.

"Their ability to conduct attacks and attempt to destabilize our government, as well as disrupt the peace of our communities, has been largely diminished,” Cuerpo said.

“This allows us to advance our campaign to ultimately defeat this criminal group and work towards declaring every province as a state of Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS). This declaration will pave the way for peace, development projects, and new opportunities," Cuerpo said.