Suspected NPA leader, 2 others nabbed in Lipa

A senior communist guerrilla leader operating in Southern Tagalog, where clashes between troops and the rebels have intensified in recent months, has been arrested, the military reported yesterday.

Rogelio Villanueva and two other suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were arrested Sunday after a brief chase along Balintawak Highway in Lipa City, Batangas , Army spokesman Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual said, adding the capture was a serious blow to the guerrillas.

Government troops also seized three handguns, rebel documents and flags, and a laptop computer, he said.

Villanueva heads the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) committee in Mindoro Occidental, where both the military and guerrillas have intensified assaults. The military said Villanueva is a suspect in 1990 killings in Mindoro. He is also a senior member of the executive committee of the CPP-Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee.

During a news conference at the Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio, a defiant Villanueva struggled to raise his handcuffed fist and, facing TV cameras, apologized for having been arrested.

"I’m sorry, Mindoro," he said.

Villanueva, along with two women companions identified as Joy Aguba Mendoza and Rizza Mendoza Mesana, were said to be waiting for a car to bring them to Mindoro when Army intelligence agents pounced on them.

Maj. Gen. Pedro Cabuay, commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, said Villanueva’s apprehension was covered by a warrant of arrest for the multiple charges filed against him before a regional trial court in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro.

He said Villanueva’s arrest was a result of unrelenting intelligence buildup against individuals and groups perceived to be enemies of the state.

Villanueva is now undergoing interrogation, Cabuay said, adding that vital subversive documents were also confiscated from him.

According to security officials, the communist guerrillas have emerged as the biggest threat to the May 10 national elections by harassing and extorting money from candidates of all stripes.

While peace talks with the rebels’ political arm — the National Democratic Front — have been revived, the government considers the NPA a "threat to democracy," according to a briefing paper by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. — With reports from AP, AFP