The Philippine Army on Tuesday recovered several high-powered firearms being used by the New People's Army in the hinterlands of Talaingod in Davao del Norte.

In time of the 55th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines on 26 December, a platoon of soldiers from the Army's 56th Infantry Battalion was able to locate the buried firearms after receiving reports from former rebels.

Soldiers recovered a Bushmaster M4 Assault Rifle bearing serial number L172522, a Colt M4 Assault Rifle with serial number 223007, three long magazine assemblies; and 96 rounds of Cal. 5.56 mm ammunition buried in the remote area of Sitio Nalubas, Barangay Palma Gil in Talaingod.

10th Infantry Division spokesperson Major Mark Anthony Tito said that former NPA members revealed that the recovered firearms were part of the communist's excess weapons.

He added that successive encounters and massive surrender of former NPA members in the area resulted in a shortage of manpower to handle firearms.

Meanwhile, the 5IB has also reported that two NPA rebels that were on "lie-low status" — identified as alias Samuel and alias Gemma — surrendered to the government troops on Christmas Eve.

"Soldiers were having their 'boodlefight' in celebration of the coming Christmas when the husband and wife duo together with their small children arrived accompanied by operating troops who negotiated their surrender," Tito said.

The couple along with their children voluntarily approached the army detachment in the area and decided to return to the folds of the law. They brought with them a cal.38 revolver with two pieces of ammunition and an improvised explosive device fashioned as an anti-personnel landmine weighing four kilos.