Army says 6 top Red leaders in Luzon fall

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Government troops captured three suspected Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) leaders in Central Luzon and three New People’s Army (NPA) rebels after a clash in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, on Wednesday, the military reported on Thursday.

The gunfight in Barangay Sto. Niño in Sta. Rosa led to the arrest of Efren Delalamon, Carla Ramos Bautista and Andres Lapuz Ely, reported to be all CPP regional leaders, and John Michael Ilito, Felix Sarabia and Ambrosio Ilito, according to a report from the Army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

The report did not state the positions held by Delalamon and Ely, who went by the aliases Baste and Marco, respectively. Delalamon was wounded in the arm during the clash.

Bautista, alias Joy, was identified as political instructor of the CPP’s Central Luzon regional committee while Ely was the party finance committee head.

“It’s too early to ascertain the impact of their arrest on the communist rebel movement,” said Lt. Gen. Anthony Alcantara, chief of the military’s Northern Luzon Command.

The six suspected rebels surrendered when soldiers and policemen cornered them after the clash, said Col. Hilario Vicente Lagnada, commander of the 56th Infantry Battalion.