Palawan NPA leader, wife, 2 others nabbed

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY— Four suspected top communist rebels fell into the hands of authorities over the weekend in three separate instances in Palawan, Camarines Sur and Quezon provinces.

Sonny Gonzales, 43, alleged head of the New People’s Army in Palawan, and his wife surrendered to pursuing policemen on Sunday in the remote village of Inogbong in Bataraza town, Supt. David Martinez, Philippine National Police  provincial chief, announced on Monday.

Gonzales, a native of Mauban town, Quezon, is known among intelligence units as Gilbert Silagan, Ka Glen and Ka Marlon, Martinez said. The suspect’s wife was identified as Alma Moreno (not the actress), alias Ka Carol.

The couple have long been on the most wanted list of law enforcement agencies, with a combined bounty of over P4 million.

Martinez said Gonzales had at least seven arrest warrants, mostly on murder complaints, while Moreno has three arrest warrants issued by Palawan courts.

A civilian informant had tipped off police agents about the presence of the couple in Inogbong.

In Camarines Sur, a police-military team arrested Silvestre Layones Jr., the alleged head of the urban committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Bicol, at a checkpoint in Barangay (village) Concepcion Grande in Naga City on Sunday afternoon.

Layones, alias Eric or Dexter, was on board a bus when nabbed at 3 p.m. on the basis of an arrest warrant for murder charges, Chief Supt. Victor Deona,  regional police director, said.

In Quezon, another suspected communist rebel, identified as George Geluz, 60, was arrested by military and police personnel from Bicol in Barangay Isabang, Tayabas town, on Saturday. With a report from Mar Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon