TACLOBAN CITY — Information provided by residents led to the recovery of two caches of war materiel believed to have been concealed by members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Salvacion, Jiabong, Samar, the military said.
Personnel of the 3rd Infantry Battalion recovered the materiel following information relayed by residents through the battalion’s Modified Community Support Program (MCSP).
According to the Army, individuals believed to be members of the Yakal Platoon of the Sub-Regional Committee (SRC) Browser had attempted to seek support and resources from residents in the area.
The residents reportedly refused to assist the group and instead informed the MCSP team, prompting soldiers to verify the information and conduct a recovery operation.
The operation led to the discovery of a cache of war materiel allegedly concealed for future activities by communist terrorist groups (CTGs).
Several days later, another resident voluntarily provided information about the location of a second cache reportedly intended for use in violent activities by the armed group.
Authorities immediately acted on the information, resulting in the recovery of the additional materiel, according to the Army.
The 3rd IB said the successive recoveries demonstrated the importance of community cooperation and vigilance in preventing armed groups from using civilians and local resources to sustain their operations.
The battalion also stressed that maintaining peace and security requires the participation of both security forces and local communities.
It said it would continue its security and community engagement efforts in coordination with residents to prevent violence and protect communities from armed groups.
The recovered items were placed under government custody.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
