Ex-NPA rebel tips off location of arms cache

MANILA, Philippines — A former communist rebel tipped an Army unit to the site of an arms cache, mostly of high-powered firearms, in Sultan Kudarat.

Troops of the 7th Infantry Battalion, under joint task force Central, unearthed over the weekend a New People’s Army (NPA) weapons cache at Sitio Kanalan, Barangay Marquez in Esperanza town.

Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the JTF Central, said the arms cache belonged to the NPA.

According to Uy, his troops were led to the stashed weapons on Friday by a former communist rebel who recently surrendered.

Uy said that troopers recovered 34 shotguns, an M79 grenade launcher, a Springfield rifle, a .22-caliber rifle, two single-shot pistols, a .45-caliber pistol, an Uzi, two improvised explosive device detonators, and assorted ammunition.

—JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE
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