Tuesday, April 2, 2019

NPA leader, 2 comrades nabbed in Kabankalan City

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 2, 2019): NPA leader, 2 comrades nabbed in Kabankalan City


REBELS ARRESTED. New People’s Army leader Abraham Villanueva (left), the front secretary of South West Front in Negros, and comrades were brought to the Kabankalan City Police Station after their arrest on Monday night ( April 1, 2019). Residents of Barangay Tampalon reported the presence of armed men in their village to the police, which passed the information to the troopers of 15th Infantry Battalion. (Photo courtesy of 15th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army)

A leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) and his two comrades were arrested by joint government forces at Sitio Amian Ilawod, Barangay Tampalon in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on Monday night.

Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IB), on Tuesday identified the captured NPA leader as Abraham Villanueva, the secretary of South West Front.

Also arrested were his comrades Jomar Villarojo, 28, of Barangay Camansi, Kabankalan City, and an 18-year-old from Barangay Asia, Hinoba-an.

The 303IB confirmed their arrest, which took place on the same day as troops in the central Negros town of Moises Padilla encountered communist rebels who killed a municipal councilor on Sunday.

Villanueva, who is in his 50s, leads NPA cadres in the Sixth District of Negros Occidental, or the so-called CHICKS area, referring to Candoni, Hinoba-an, Ilog, Cauayan, Kabankalan City, and Sipalay City.

Arevalo said residents of Barangay Tampalon reported the presence of armed men in their village to the police, which passed the information to the troopers of 15th Infantry Battalion.

At around 9:20 p.m., the three were arrested by joint operatives of the Army’s 15IB, 604th Regional Mobile Force Company, and Kabankalan City Police Station.

They were clad in black sweatshirts with the print PKP or Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas @50 and black jogging pants.

The Army also reported that the three yielded a .45-caliber pistol, a magazine with five pieces of ammunition, and three hand grenades.

Arevalo said that following the arrest of Villanueva and his two comrades, troopers of 15IB conducted a pursuit operation and engaged about 20 communist rebels in a 20-minute firefight in Barangay Tampalon around 5:50 a.m. on Tuesday.

After the encounter, the soldiers recovered an M16 rifle with a magazine, 20 ammunitions for M16 rifle, 21 ammunitions for AK47 rifle, and 175 rounds of 7.6 machine gun link.

They also found two basic mobile phones, a smart phone, a computer tablet, a netbook, a storage device for laptop, a transistor radio, and binoculars along with containers with food rations, personal items, medical kit, list of NPA extortion activities, and subversive documents.


http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1066270

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