Military captures ranking communist leader in Iloilo City

Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).  AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Government forces arrested a ranking communist leader in Jaro, Iloilo City, dealing a “great blow” to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), according to the military.

Eduardo Almores Esteban, with aliases “Bonnie,” “Benny” and “Pilo,” was arrested for murder on Tuesday morning by joint forces of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) in Barangay (village) Buntala, the military said on Wednesday in a belated report.

Esteban is the Director of the Communication Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPP-NPA.

He was the former Secretary of the CPP-NPA Ilocos Cordillera Regional Party Committee.

“His arrest will [deal] a great blow to the CPP-NPA whose leadership has been successively arrested after the capture of the Tiamzon couple last March,” Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, AFP Public Affairs Office chief, said in a statement.

“The ranking NPA leader reportedly owns and supervises several businesses in the city while his comrades are still in the mountains living a life full of hardships, and being misled to the violent path,” Zagala added.

The AFP spokesperson said Esteban will be transported to Bangued in Abra to return his arrest warrant to the court of origin in the province’s Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 2.