Four suspected NPAs nabbed at checkpoint

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

 

BACOLOD City – Military troopers and the police arrested four alleged members of the Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor (KR-NCBS) of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in a checkpoint at Sitio Proper, Barangay Montilla, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental last Friday.

The Army identified the suspects as:

-Jovanie Bohol, 25, of Danao City, Cebu, an alleged member of Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda (SYP) Platoon of the Central Negros Front 1;

-Wilmar Pongasi, 24, of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, believed to be a staff of NPA’s legal front organization Farmers Development Center (FARDEC) based in Cebu, and a member of Kabataang Makabayan (KM);

-Juannie Obidas, 31, of Moises Padilla town; and

-Lioltren Trinidad, 31, of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.

Troopers of the 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) and personnel of Moises Padilla Municipal Police Station established a checkpoint that day after receiving information from the local populace about the presence of four suspicious individuals in the area riding two motorcycles.

During the interview at the checkpoint, one of the individuals was found to be in possession of a loose firearm that led to the apprehension of the group, the Army said in a press release.

Authorities recovered from Bohol a .45-caliber pistol, and live ammunition of an M203 grenade launcher from Pongasi.

Also seized from them were two magazines and 12 live ammunition of a .45-caliber pistol, two transistor radios, a pair of rain boots, an NPA flag, a printer, subversive documents, and marriage certificate of top ranking NPA couple Adidas Acero and Nona Espinosa-Acero, who were previously arrested in Guihulngan City on Sept 20.

In a statement, Major General Eric Vinoya, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) questioned the affiliation of Pongasi with the NPA, as it indicated the direct participation of a legal organization in the CPP-NPA’s activities in the area.

“The arrest of Wilmar Pongasi, a staff of FARDEC, only reveals his affiliation with the Communist Terrorist Group. This is a clear manifestation of the deceptive nature of the CPP-NPA-National Democratic Front (NDF), as they use legal organizations and terrorism against our communities to fuel their ill-motivated intent of raising funds to fill the pockets of their greedy leaders,” Vinoya said.