11 rebel suspects held, tagged in poll extortion

CAMP GEN. ALEJO SANTOS, Bulacan—Government soldiers arrested 11 suspected communist rebels in Bulacan on Friday for possessing nine guns and letters demanding payments from local candidates so they could campaign in remote villages in Doña Remedios Trinidad (DRT) town, a top Army official in Central Luzon said.

Maj. Gen. Pio Gregorio Catapang, chief of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Nueva Ecija, said the suspects were arrested by soldiers from the 56th Infantry Battalion (IB) on Friday night in the sub-villages of Mahangin and Sapang Linao in Barangay Kabayunan in DRT.

The 11 men were charged with illegal possession of firearms and violation of the Omnibus Election Code and Human Security Act of 2007 (Republic Act No. 9372).

Catapang denied an allegation by a mayoral candidate that the suspects were members of the private army of reelectionist Mayor Ronaldo Flores.

“That remains to be established in an investigation. But as things stand now, we have seized from the suspects campaign-to-permit letters from the New People’s Army (NPA),” he said by phone.

He said soldiers received reports about the presence of 30 armed men in the two sub-villages.

“An informant said these armed groups … are planning to establish checkpoints as well as ambush uncooperative political candidates as ordered by [Communist Party of the Philippines]-NPA hierarchy,” said Col. Bernardo Ona, head of the 56th IB, in a report.

Soldiers and policemen also recovered three .45 cal. pistols, four hand grenades and a shotgun. Also recovered were two M14 rifles and three M16 rifles, Ona said.

United Nationalist Alliance  mayoral candidate Pangko Sembrano assailed the police for making it appear that the men were NPA rebels.

Sembrano, a former vice mayor of DRT, said the armed men belonged to a politician’s private army. Reports from Carmela Reyes-Estrope and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon