A RANKING New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was arrested by government troops in Sultan Kudarat province, military officials said Tuesday, March 17.
Brigadier General Wilbur Mamawag, Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade commander, identified the arrested ranking NPA rebel a s Leon Tacduro, alias Ka Paeng, who was apprehended after an arrest warrant was served against him at 2:20 a.m. Monday at Sitio Kipopo in Keytodak Village, Lebak, Sultan Kudarat.
Mamawag said Tacduro has a standing warrant of arrest for three-count of murder.
He said the rebel leader is the head of the NPA’s Regional Peasant Bureau under the Far-South Mindanao Region (FSMR).
“He will first undergo custodial debriefing and documentation before we turn him over for proper filing of charges,” Mamawag said.
He said recovered from the possession of Tacduro were: one caliber .45 pistol; one homemade pistol; two fragmentary hand grenades; nine units cellular phones; one digital camera; and, subversive documents.
“This (arrest of Tacduro) connotes positive development in our campaign against the communist terrorists in Central Mindanao,” said Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).
Sobejana said the arrest of Tacduro will surely be of great impact in the operational capability of the NPA’s FSMR, particularly in Sultan Kudarat.
“Losing one of their pillars, weakens the group, thus giving us great advantage in instigating our offensives and peaceful mechanisms in the area,” he said. (SunStar Zamboanga)