Soldiers nab 2 alleged NPA leaders in Quezon

LUCENA CITY—An alleged high ranking leader of New People’s Army (NPA) in Quezon and his companion were arrested by soldiers on Friday, according to the military.

Col. Generoso Bolina, spokesman of the Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) based in Camp Nakar here, identified the suspects as Fidel Holanda and a certain Erwin Casiño.

In a text message, Bolina said the two were arrested at around 10 p.m. along the Maharlika Highway in this city.

Col. Eduardo Año, head of the Army’s 401st Infantry Brigade, said the suspects were in a car when intercepted at a checkpoint by soldiers and Lucena policemen.

Año said Holanda was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest on a murder charge issued by a court in Gumaca, Quezon.

Holanda, said Año, is a top NPA leader in Quezon. “His capture was a result of a tip from one of our assets,” Año said over the phone.

He said Holanda, a native of Pitogo, Quezon, has been with the rebel movement for the past 25 years.

He said Casiño belonged to one of the rebel’s mass organizations.

The military said the suspects yielded explosives, communist documents, mobile phones and laptops.

Solcom claimed that 84 rebels had surrendered in recent days.