By
Ding Cervantes
CITY
OF SAN FERNANDO - Eleven armed alleged
members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were arrested over the weekend in a
joint army and police operation in Barangay Kabayunan, Doña Remedios Trinidad
(DRT) in Bulacan, but sources from Camp Olivas here said the armed men belonged
to a private army of a politician running in the local elections.
Army
7th Infantry Division (7ID) public affairs officer Capt. Mark Anthony Ruelos
said in a report the men were arrested by troops from the 56th Infantry
Battalion (56IB) headed by Lt. Col. Bernardo Oña and the DRT police.
The
arrested suspected NPA rebels were identified as Rodolfo Cruz, 65, of Barangay
Bigte, Norzagaray, Bulacan; Rico Vicene, 43,
of San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan; Josefino Lupanco, 34, of Salangan,
San Miguel; Cyrhyl dela Cruz,19, of Barangay. Tibagan, San Miguel; Jayson
Valmadrid, 25, of Barangay San Juan, San Miguel; Randy Puno, 33, of Barangay Salangan,
San Miguel; and Angel Cabrera, 48, also of Barangay Salangan, San Miguel.
“The
operation resulted in no gunfire and yielded three .45 mm high-powered
firearms, four hand grenades, a shotgun with six ammunitions, subversive
documents which included Permit to Campaign (PTC) letters, solicitation
letters, and a blue book containing names, places, activities, and area study;
and paramedic instruments such as medicines, stethoscope, and syringe,” Ruelos said.
Follow-up
operations in the area later led to the capture of three more alleged NPA
members identified as Graciano dela Cruz, Billy Asuncion and William Asuncion,
and the seizure of their arms that included three M16 and two M14 rifles, as
well as subversive documents.
The
arrest of the armed men was triggered by information from a “concerned citizen”
that about 30 men alleged to be NPA members were present in remote Sitio
Mahangin and Sitio Sapang Linao in DRT, he said.
Ruelos
said the armed men were apparently “sending PTC letters to local candidates and
had even planned to establish checkpoints in the area to ambush uncooperative
bets.”
”The
seized items were turned over to the local police and will serve as evidences
against the suspects who are now under the custody of DRT police for proper documentation
and filing of appropriate criminal charges,” Ruelos added.
A
source from Camp Olivas who asked not to be named for lack of authority to
disclose information said that the alleged communist rebels who were captured
in DRT were also members of an armed group being maintained by one candidate
running for a local post in the Bulacan town in the coming May elections. The
politician was not identified. – With reports from Rommel Ramos