SAN PEDRO CITY—Authorities on Sunday (July 28) confirmed the arrest of a university student and a companion who were allegedly members of the rebel New People’s Army (NPA) and were found in possession of unlicensed guns.
Police and the Army confirmed on Sunday the arrest of alleged rebels Nadeline Fabon, 21, said to be a student of Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and Reynaldo Malaborbor, aka Ace, age unknown, for possession of illegal firearms and explosives.
Malaborbor, according to authorities, was wanted and covered by an arrest warrant for illegal possession of firearms in the town of Infanta, Quezon province.
Col. Joseph Bayan, Occidental Mindoro police chief, and Army Col. Kit Teofilo, head of the 203rd Brigade, separately confirmed the arrest of Fabon and Malaborbor around 5 p.m. on Saturday (July 27) at an alleged rebel safe house in the town of Sta. Cruz, Occidental Mindoro province.
Teofilo said found in the possession of the alleged rebels were .45 caliber and 9 mm guns and explosives.
Fabon, the Army officer said, was a “political instructor” of NPA and “helped extort revolutionary taxes.” Malaborbor, the Army said, was an intelligence officer of NPA.
He said the explosive seized from the two were similar to those recovered by soldiers after recent clashes between government forces and rebels in Occidental Mindoro.
But Casey Cruz, spokesperson of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said Fabon was still able to send a text message to her friend around 1 p.m. Saturday saying they were being “abducted.”
Cruz claimed the two were peasant organizers.
“They were there as volunteers to help farmers cope with the effects of dry spell,” Cruz said in a phone interview.
The two were taken to a police jail but Bayan declined to disclose which one specifically, citing possible retaliation from the rebel group.
Charges of illegal possession of firearms would be filed against the two on Monday. Maricar Cinco/TSB