Government troops, acting on community tip-offs, unearthed a cache of firearms and explosives believed to belong to remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Cogon, Carigara, Leyte, on Sunday.
Soldiers from the 93rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, in coordination with the Philippine National Police’s Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO), discovered the hidden stockpile at Sitio Eraya, Zone 3.
According to Lt. Col. Celeste Frank Sayson, commander of the 93IB, the recovery was made possible through the ‘active vigilance’ of residents who relayed information to authorities.
The arms cache was traced to the dismantled Platoon 2, IC-LEVOX of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) under the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee.
Items recovered included an M16 rifle, a hand grenade, 118 live rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, three short magazines, an empty shell, two improvised blasting caps, subversive documents, a Lenovo tablet, five kilograms of rice, assorted clothing, medical supplies, and a backpack.
Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, commander of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, lauded the cooperation of Carigara residents in the government’s anti-insurgency campaign.
‘We commend the troops of the 93IB and the PNP for their swift action on the information provided by the community. The cooperation of the people is vital in putting an end to the crimes being perpetrated by the remaining NPA members in Carigara,’ Vestuir said in a statement.
He also renewed his call for the remaining NPA members in Leyte to lay down their arms and avail themselves of government programs designed to help former rebels reintegrate into society.
The latest discovery follows a clash in the same barangay in June 2025 that left three IC-LEVOX members dead, including Juanito Sellesa, alias ‘Tibor,’ a ranking member of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee