REBEL WEAPONS RECOVERED. A soldier of the Army's 53rd Infantry Battalion checks the firearms of communist rebels unearthed Saturday (March 26, 2022) in the forest of Barangay Ocapan, San Miguel, Zamboanga del Sur. The location of the weapons was revealed to the military by a New People's Army rebel leader who surrendered last week. (Photo courtesy of the 53IB) ZAMBOANGA CITY - Government troops have unearthed an arms cache of the New People's Army (NPA) rebels in the hinterlands of Zamboanga del Sur, the military said Monday. Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, the Army's 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the arms cache that contained five AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition was discovered Saturday by the 53rd Infantry Battalion (IB) troopers in the forested area of Barangay Ocapan in San Miguel municipality. Nicolas said the location of the firearms was revealed to them during the custodial debriefing of Ka Andoy, an executive committee member of the NPA's Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee (WMRPC). Ka Andoy surrendered last week to the 53IB, saying he wished to start anew and live a peaceful life together with his family. Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, 1st Infantry Division commander, said they expect "more communist terrorists to return to the fold of the law following the peace rallies conducted in our area of operation the other day." Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., the commander of Western Mindanao Command, assured the military will remain "steadfast in conducting lethal and non-lethal operations to sustain the momentum against the rebels." The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA (CPP-NPA) is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as "an integral and inseparable part" of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973. (PNA) }