Detained NPA leader in Agusan dies – military

MANILA — A detained communist leader, Ricardo Manili alias Joker, died on Tuesday night due to cardiac arrest.

Manili, the fourth most wanted criminal in Caraga, was a former Secretary of the New People’s Army (NPA) Guerilla Front Committee 4A of the North Central Mindanao Command, the 402nd Infantry Brigade said in a statement Thursday.

He was arrested in 2016 and was detained at the Agusan del Norte Provincial Jail before he was brought to the hospital on January 12 for hypertension.

Manili was declared comatose three days after his hospitalization and was transferred to Butuan Doctor’s Hospital for further treatment.

“Criminals like Joker are put in prison for heinous crimes and human rights violations. Despite his crimes, he was still given sufficient medical attention by the government for his recovery. However, he was left by his former comrades to die in prison,” said Brig. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, commander of the 402nd Infantry Brigade.

He then urged active members of the NPA to lay down their arms and start a new life with their families. /kga