Military officials reported yesterday that the manhunt for Madlos had been intensified after the Army’s 4th Infantry Division captured the rebel camp located inside a cave in Sitio Greenfields where the communist New People’s Army (NPA) had set up a bomb and ammunition manufacturing factory.
Maj. Gen. Jose Barbieto, chief of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division said the soldiers captured the rebel weapons depot after a firefight at Greenfields.
The troopers recovered 42 plastic containers of superdyne dynamite explosives that are used to manufacture Claymore land mines.
Also found were 18 pieces of Claymore land mines, an M14 rifle, an M16 rifle, one rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, two mortar base plates, a B40 anti-tank weapon base plate, a set of rifle ammunition reloading machine, 13 mm electric drill press machine, 76 pieces of M60 machinegun bullets, detonating wires and two pieces of expanders.
The troopers also received information that about 100 plastic containers of superdyne dynamite explosives are still buried in the area. The explosives are enough to manufacture at least 250 pieces of eight-kilogram Claymore land mines.
Barbieto said that the main NPA camp is located inside a cave which is the alleged regional base of Madlos, the top NPA leader in Mindanao.
The weapons seized were believed to be part of the arms buildup of NPA rebels in preparation for the forth coming anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Jan. 29.
Maj. Samuel Sagun, spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, said the military believes that the Greenfields area is the regional guerrilla base of communist rebels led by Madlos and the cave is used for the regional trainings and anniversary celebrations.
"We are now intensifying our manhunt for Madlos," Sagun said.
Government troops said that the capture of Madlos’s camp will degrade the bomb-making capabilities of the communist rebels.
But sources from the NPA claimed that Madlos had evaded the soldiers that captured the rebel camp.
Madlos is said to be suffering from kidney ailment, but the NPA commander will not surrender, the rebel source said.
Sagun said the military pursuit operations against the group of Madlos are supported by two UH-1H choppers and two MG 520 attack helicopters from the Air Force Tactical Operations Group 10 led by Lt. Col. Raul del Rosario.
"The capture of the communist terrorists’ bomb factory will definitely degrade their bomb-making capability in Mindanao," he said.
Sagun said the military has already coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government units for the rehabilitation of Sitio Greenfields, Barangay Sta. Juana and other nearby barangays.
"Civilians are already complaining about the excesses of the rebels like forced taxation in the form of money and agricultural products," he said. "The military expects the communist legal fronts to denounce the ongoing combat operations which are being conducted with utmost care in respect to human rights."