Ranking NPA rebel falls in South Cotabato
KORONADAL CITY – Police and military authorities announced here today the arrest of an official of communist rebels operating in South Central Mindanao.
Chief Insp. Jardimont Sibal, Surallah town police chief, identified the NPA leader as Ofelia Buanho, 55, alias “Commander Dikay,” secretary of Guerilla Front 73. She was arrested in Barangay Libertad, Surallah, South Cotabato.
“She was facing charges of rebellion, arson, and extortion,” Sibal said Wednesday. Buanho did not resist arrest.
Elements of 27th Infantry Battalion and the Surallah municipal police sighted Buanho in a house at 9 p.m. on Tuesday and went there to arrest her.
“She came from Bansalan, Davao del Sur and visited a relative here when she was sighted by police and Army agents,” Sibal said. Based on the arrest warrant, Buanho was a resident of Kilometer 82 in Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
The NPA guerrilla has been detained at the provincial jail in Koronadal City.
