Skip to content
NATION

20,000 bullets, explosives found buried in Masbate town

The military said the stash contained 30 improvised claymore mines, 60 small improvised explosive devices, 20,000 ammunition for a 5.56mm rifle, and 28 handguard molders.

Some 20,000 bullets, claymore mines, and improvised explosive devices found in Cawayan, Masbate

MOUNTAIN OF BULLETS. A mountain of bullets and some explosives fill up the back of a military truck after soldiers from the Philippine Army's 9th Infantry Division found them buried in Cawayan, Masbate last week.

SCREENSHOT OF VIDEO REPORT FROM 9TH INFANTRY "SPEAR" DIVISION

Text size

NAGA CITY – Government soldiers found a huge arms cache, which included 20,000 bullets and explosives, in Cawayan town in Masbate province on Thursday, 5 November, the Philippine Army in Bicol said in a belated report on Tuesday, 10 November.

Members of the 2nd and 65th Infantry Battalion, under the Army’s 9th Infantry Division (9ID), conducting an intelligence-driven combat operation in Barangay Cabungahan in Cawayan found the buried explosives and bullets, the report said.

The military said the stash contained 30 improvised claymore mines, 60 small improvised explosive devices, 20,000 ammunition for a 5.56mm rifle, and 28 handguard molders.

The report did not mention whether 9ID believes the arms cache was hidden there by the New People’s Army (NPA) but it said the military will tighten its monitoring and security operations in Masbate and other areas where there are still reports of rebel presence.