Rebel arrested next to police camp

An alleged communist rebel tagged by police as the third most wanted criminal in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) region, was arrested in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna province, authorities said on Monday.

Allan Alarzar, 39, said to be a New People’s Army member who had been hunted by government forces since 2001, was arrested in Barangay (village) Sto. Domingo right next to the training camp of the Special Action Force, the elite commando unit of the Philippine National Police.

Alarzar had reportedly been living with his relatives in the village for years, posing as a tricycle driver, said Supt. Fernando Ortega, police chief of Calamba City, also in Laguna.

A native of Gloria, Oriental Mindoro province, the suspect faces three counts of murder, including that of a court employee from Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro, on Oct. 30, 2011. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon