Baladad lauds 10th Infantry Division for successful arrest of ranking NPA leader

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): Baladad lauds 10th Infantry Division for successful arrest of ranking NPA leader

For their successful arrest of a ranking New People's Army (NPA) leader in Davao City last April 7, Eastern Mindanao Command head Lt. Gen. Aurelio B. Baladad on Friday lauded the officers and enlisted personnel of the Compostela Valley-based 10th Infantry Division.

Baladad expressed his congratulations to the 10th Infantry Division through Major Gen. Eduardo Ano.

Last April 7, joint operatives of the 10th Infantry Division and Philippine National Police arrested NPA leader Vincent Estrada alias Dennis Montecillo/Bords/Brod/Oban during checkpoint operations in Davao City.

The former is the NPA's Head of Regional Instructor’s Bureau of Regional Operational Command (ROC), Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMC).

He was arrested by combined operatives of the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 11 of the PNP at a Task Force Davao checkpoint in Barangay Sirawan, Toril, Davao City at around 9:20 p.m.

Estrada was nabbed while aboard an Isuzu Bighorn (BDV-864) with a certain Zacarias Delos Santos Mancia, Jr.

He was arrested by virtue of warrant of arrest with CC#7610 for the crime of Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention filed before Regional Trial Court Branch 3 in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province.

Recovered from their possession were a caliber .45 pistol, two fragmentation grenades, one laptop, five cellphones, subversive documents and personal belongings.

Both personalities are now under the custody of CIDG 11.

Año said Estrada's arrest is expected to create a huge vacuum in leadership of the CPP-NPA operating in Davao Region considering the latter is a high-valued cadre which is very difficult for the communist movement to train and replace.

As of April 8, there were 16 NPA killed as a result of encounters with our security forces in Davao region and in parts of North Cotabato and Sarangani Province.

There were also a total of 37 NPA returnees as of this year in said areas.

“This arrest is a major setback on the part of the CPP/NPA in Davao region in addition to previous arrests of members of the NPA bandit group. It is also, a success on the part of the law enforcement and the maintenance of peace in Davao City. With the villagers in the far-flung barangays providing us information about the criminal activities of the NPA such as extortion, harassment, recruitment of lumads and deception activities, we are able to defend the communities from this bandit group,” Baladad said.

Since last year, five top NPA leaders operating in Davao Region were already arrested.

These are Dominiciano Muya, Felix Armodia, Jordan Donillo, Raunil N. Mortejo and Jasmin C. Badilla.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=751870