Army hikes reward for rebel priest

From  the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Nov 15): Army hikes reward for rebel priest

The military has increased to nearly P8 million the reward for the capture of one of the most elusive and highest ranking leaders of the communist underground movement, a priest-turned-rebel, in Negros Occidental. Col. Oscar Lactao, head of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said the reward for the capture of Fr. Frank Fernandez was increased from P5 million to P7.8 million, quoting a memo from the armed forces headquarters. Lactao said the cash reward will come from funds being allotted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police for the capture of the country’s most wanted persons. Fernandez, a Catholic priest, is secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) regional committee based in Negros Occidental. He is also known by his aliases Ibarra, Kanor, Suilo and Ago and is wanted for four counts of murder and attempted murder. According to the military, Fernandez supervises the operations of at least four guerrilla fronts of the New People’s Army on Negros Island that has at least 200 fighters. Rewards for the capture of dozens of other communist leaders have been put up by the government. They include Arlo Vargas. In a statement, the CPP on Wednesday condemned the bounty, which total P466.8 million for 235 communist leaders....

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