Operatives recover machine gun in Quezon

MANILA, Philippines — Police and soldiers recovered a machine gun and bullets in Barangay Sta. Elena in Lopez, Quezon, the Philippine Army announced yesterday.

Col. Michael Aquino, the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (ID) public affairs chief, said the weapon appears to be the same gun seized by the New People’s Army during an attack on a Philippine Coast Guard station and Philippine Navy vessel in Real, Quezon in August 2003.

“Recoveries like this show that sustained pressure makes a difference. Each weapon taken out of circulation reduces the ability of armed groups to threaten lives and disrupt communities,” said Maj. Gen. Ramon Zagala, 2nd ID commander.

Zagala added that the firearm recovery follows back-to-back arms cache recoveries in Labo, Camarines Norte, wherein Army and police units seized dozens of firearms, explosives and ammunition from rebels.