THE Kabankalan City Police Station and the Philippine Army in Negros Occidental are conducting an investigation to determine the identities of the four suspected Special Partisan Unit (Sparu) members arrested in a checkpoint at Sitio Buri, Barangay 4, Kabankalan City on December 7.
Collared were Wendel Morales, 21, of Barangay Baclao, Sipalay City; Ronie de la Cruz, 19, and Ariel Revira, 23, both of Barangay Patag, Silay City; and Joelito Medez, 41, of Barangay Carol-an, Kabankalan City.
Superintendent Rhea Santos, city police chief, said they spotted them on board a motorcycle, but the driver executed a U-turn to avoid the checkpoint.
They were still cornered by the police around 11 p.m.
Morales was caught possessing a .45 caliber with magazine and six ammunition while De la Cruz yielded a .38 caliber revolver loaded with four live ammunition.
Both were charged for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Revira and Medez were arrested for resisting arrest and disobedience to person in authority, but were released from detention due to their minor offense.
Santos said they have yet to verify the identities of the four suspects as they are still coordinating with the intelligence operatives of the Philippine Army.
Lieutenant Colonel Darrell Bañez, commanding officer of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, said the four suspects were confirmed to be Sparu members based on the positive identification by former rebels.
Bañez said the suspects were in Kabankalan City last week to probably conduct diversionary attacks.
Despite such confirmation, Bañez said they still continuously conduct background checking.