TACLOBAN CITY — The Philippine Army reported that state troops discovered an arms cache containing high-powered firearms in the upland Mabini village in Basey, Samar through information from a rebel leader who yielded to authorities last month.

802nd Infantry Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Noel A. Vestuir disclosed that soldiers from the 63rd Infantry Battalion unearthed the cache which include four AK47 assault rifles, five upper receivers of M16 rifles with bolt assembly, five long magazines of AK47 and two disc-type magazines of AK47 rifles.

The discovery stemmed from information gained from a former high-ranking NPA leader.

Soldiers found the location of the buried arms cache — believed to belong to Bugsok platoon, a sub-regional committee of the NPA Eastern Visayas regional party committee — on the outskirts of upland Mabini village.

“The NPA abandoned these firearms since no one will carry them because there are only a few of them. Many have already surrendered, and they are running out of bullets,” Vestuir said in an interview.

Mabini village has been cleared from NPA threats, but rebels have been coming back as part of their recovery attempts, according to Vestuir.

He added that the discovery of the arms cache is a result of the continuous cooperation of a former high-ranking leader of the NPA who surrendered to the government troops in December 2023 through the Friends Rescued Engagement through their Families program of the local government and the military.

Under the initiative, family members of active NPA members and supporters have been capacitated to negotiate for the peaceful surrender of their loved ones and family members with active support from third-party peace advocates, former rebels, local government units, non-government organizations, religious sector and other key actors.