A 59-YEAR-OLD employee of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was arrested on Wednesday, May 27, after he introduced himself as member of the New People's Army (NPA) and extorted money from a farmers' group leader from Jaro, Leyte.

Police identified the suspect as Mariano Donceras, married and resident of Barangay 91, Abucay, Tacloban.

He was nabbed in an entrapment operation after the victim, Alex Aborita, board chairman of Leyte Compact Farming Agriculture Cooperative, reported to the police.

Aborita said he received a phone call from the suspect who posed himself as NPA rebel and asked for revolutionary tax.

The suspect demanded P15,000 from Aborita in exchange for his protection. Donceras also threatened the security of Aborita's family if he fails to give the money.

Operatives from Tacloban City Police Office-City Intelligence Unit (TCPO-CIU) Tracker Team led by Captain Winrich Laya Lim, together with 82nd Military Intelligence Company (Mico), arrested the suspect around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Barangay 35, Tacloban.

Recovered from the suspect were the marked money used in the entrapment operation, one original P500 and bogus money consisting of 16 pieces of P500.

Donceras was brought to TCPO-Police Station 1 for proper disposition. (SunStar Philippines)