Ex-rebs lead authorities to Isabela NPA arms cache

By Liezle Basa Inigo

SAN MARIANO, Isabela – Soldiers of the 95th Infantry Battalion (95th IB) of the Army’s Fifth Infantry Division (5th ID) found high powered firearms and explosives belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) with the help of former rebels in the mountainous area of Sierra Madre on Dec. 30.
    M16 and M14 rifles, along with some grenades and components for explosives were recovered with the help of Ka Ganer, regular NPA member who surrendered in 2019, and Ka Abner, a militia member who surrendered on Wednesday here in Barangay Buyasan, San Mariano.
    According to 5th ID Commander Maj. Gen. Laurence E. Mina, the gesture and effort of the former rebels in leading the authorities to the arms cache showed that they were are already fed up with the deceptions and false promises of the terrorist group.
    Meanwhile, the provincial government of Cagayan, in collaboration with the Philippine Army, provided livelihood assistance to 150 former rebels through the project Native Chicken Dispersal, and as part of the province’s support to rebel returnees.
Barangays from Sto Nino, Piat, and Rizal towns in Cagayan benefited from the dispersal program.
    Likewise the local government here said it was ready to support the rebel returnees in building their new lives out of the armed struggle.