3 heavily armed PUP students held

Three students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) were arrested by Army soldiers and police on Wednesday night after they were found carrying high-powered firearms in Tanay town.

Army spokesperson Major Harold Cabunoc said the three were suspected members of the communist New People’s Army.

He identified them as Marissa Espidido, 21, (a student of sociology); Jared Valero Morales, 21, (business administration), and Hermogenes Reyes Jr., 22 (cooperatives).

“They admitted that they were college students of PUP after the police found PUP ID cards in their possession,” he said.

Cabunoc said that a team from the 16th Infantry Battalion together with members of the police force went to arrest the rebels after receiving a text message from a resident on the presence of “heavily armed rebels” who sought food from them.

“At around 8:45 p.m. last night, my troops found them resting in a hut. The three rebels raised their hands to surrender upon seeing that they were completely surrounded,” Cabunoc said, quoting Colonel Aurelio Baladad, commander of the Army’s 202nd Brigade.

Four firearms were confiscated including 1 M-653 baby Armalite, an M16 rifle, an M203 grenade launcher, and a 12- gauge shotgun.

Appropriate charges were being readied by the police, Cabunoc said. With a report from DJ Yap

Originally posted at 02:14 pm | Thursday, October 27, 2011