IED Components Uncovered in Negros Oriental Amid Anti-Insurgency Efforts

Negros Oriental – Police operatives have unearthed components for an improvised explosive device (IED) in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental, marking a significant find in the continued anti-insurgency operations against the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

According to Philippines News Agency, Lt. Stephen Polinar, deputy chief of the Police Community Affairs and Development Unit of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, reported that the discovery was made following a tip from an informant. The seized items, found in Sitio Carima, Barangay Talalak, included detonating cords, main charges, blasting caps, and a battery. This recovery was the result of a five-day combat operation and forms part of ongoing local peace engagements in insurgency-affected areas. The efforts aim to ensure that the NPA, whose Southeast Front in southern Negros Oriental has been declared dismantled, cannot regain strength or support. The police and military continue to work to prevent the remnants of the guerilla front from recovering and recruiting support bases.