CAMP KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte – Police in Eastern Visayas recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) in a remote village of Can-avid, Eastern Samar, on August 26 following a tip from a former New People’s Army (NPA) member who recently surrendered to authorities.
Police Regional Office 8 (PRO-8) chief Brig. Gen. Jason L. Capoy said the discovery stemmed from the custodial debriefing of a rebel returnee identified only by his alias “Gerald.” The former insurgent led authorities to a mountainous area in Barangay Caghalong where the explosive was buried.
Personnel from the 801st Maneuver Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 8, the Can-avid Municipal Police Station, Provincial Intelligence Team–Eastern Samar, Regional Intelligence Unit 8, and Special Action Force units including the 32nd and 53rd Special Action Companies, along with an Explosive and Ordnance Disposal–K9 team, were deployed to secure the area and retrieve the device.
Recovered from the site were a PVC-contained IED, a blasting cap, a nine-volt battery, about 50 inches of detonating cord, and a roll of internet wire. The explosives were brought to the Can-avid police station for documentation and later turned over to the Provincial Explosive and Canine Unit for safe disposal.
Capoy lauded the operation, crediting the success to community support and the cooperation of former rebels.
“This recovery shows the courage of our personnel and the trust we have built with former rebels who chose peace,” Capoy said. “Stopping this threat demonstrates that a safe and secure Eastern Visayas is a shared responsibility between the police and the community.”
He also renewed the police’s call for insurgents to abandon the armed struggle, assuring them of assistance under the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
PRO-8 vowed to continue strengthening security operations in Samar and Leyte provinces while deepening community partnerships to sustain peace and order in the region. | via Ricky Bautista
