World · Philippines Bureau
Philippine police seize weapons cache in Cagayan forest
Authorities in Cagayan province recovered a significant cache of arms believed hidden by communist insurgents in a remote forested area. A former rebel who returned to government forces helped police locate the weapons depot.
LSN Philippines ·
TUGUEGARAO City — Philippine National Police operatives uncovered a weapons cache in a forested section of Baggao, Cagayan province, on Thursday, marking another recovery in ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the region.
The Cagayan Provincial Police Office said the arms were discovered in Sitio Tagang, Barangay Bunugan, with assistance from a rebel returnee who provided authorities with information about the hidden depot's location. Police Major Abdel Aziz Maximo, commander of the 1st Cagayan mobile force battalion, led the operation that recovered the cache.
The discovery adds to recent police successes in dismantling communist rebel supply lines in northern Luzon. Officials have intensified efforts to locate and neutralize weapons stockpiles used by insurgent groups operating in remote mountainous areas of the province.
The recovered arms have been inventoried and secured as evidence. Authorities continue investigating the origins of the cache and its connection to larger rebel networks. The cooperation of returning rebels has become an increasingly valuable tool for security forces combating the decades-long communist insurgency in the Philippines.