MANILA: The Armed Forces of the Philippines have launched intensive intelligence gathering to identify suppliers of AK-47 rifles to the New People’s Army.
The military said the investigation was launched after AK-47 recoveries following encounters between its troops and the rebels.
Lt-General Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, Eastern Mindanao Command commander, said they were now coordinating with the Philippine National Police-Firearms and Explosive Division (PNP-FED) to trace the source of the assault rifles.
“We are conducting our own study, but parallel with our efforts we are coordinating with the PNP-FED because some of the AK47s we have recovered have defaced serial numbers,” Cruz said.
Military commanders leading the charge against the communist insurgents operating in Northern Mindanao and in Davao Region have also expressed concern over recoveries of AK-47s in the field.
“Most of these rebels are now armed with AK-47s. And we don’t know where these foreign-made assault rifles are coming from,” one army field commander said earlier. After an encounter with rebels in Davao, troops were able to recover six brand-new rifles.
The army commander said the last information the military had was that the NPA had stopped using AK-47 rifles in its decades-old fight against the government because of problems with supply of bullets and spare parts.
The Philippine star
