Military announces arrest of alleged NPA leader in Davao

DAVAO CITY – The alleged finance officer of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao was arrested by a combined team of soldiers and policemen in Butuan City, the military said Saturday.

Major Ezra Balagtey, the spokesperson of the Eastern Mindanao Command based here, identified the suspect as Leonida Guao.

Balagtey said Guao was arrested around 3 p.m. Friday in Barangay Bading in Butuan City based on a warrant for murder issued by a court in Bayugan City in Agusan del Sur.

Guao is now under custody of the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Caraga, he said.

Guao’s apprehension came a day after the “arrest” of detained communist leader Rommel Salinas in Ozamiz City for a string of crimes he allegedly committed in Caraga region in 2013.

On Wednesday, police in Quezon City also nabbed Rafael Baylosis, a National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant.

Rights groups and progressive organizations have slammed the recent arrest of communist personalities and their supporters “on trumped-up charges and fabricated pieces of evidence.”/asu