GOVERNMENT forces arrested yesterday a ranking leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NPA) in Quezon City, dealing a huge blow to the leadership of the communist movement.
The Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (ID) named the arrested rebel leader as Wigberto Villarico, who carries the aliases Benjamin Mendoza, Juventud Del Fiero, Alejandro Montalban, Laurence, Joven, Mark, Cris, Baylon, and Baler.
Villarico is the secretary of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPP-NPA, the military said.
Lt. Col. Jeffrex Molina, the 2nd ID spokesman, said Villarico was nabbed in a house in Barangay Fairview at around 5 a.m. by troops from the military’s Joint Task Force Katagalugan and PNP.
Molina said Villarico was arrested on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by Quezon judge Rodolfo Obnamia Jr. for kidnapping with murder.
He said the arrest of the communist leader may lead to the “eventual downfall” of the STRPC.
“The arrest of Villarico would create a vacuum in the CPP’s organizational and ideological leadership, leaving the underground movement without a sense of strategic and operational directions and a reason for its existence,” said Molina.
Molina alleged that Villarico has violated human rights, international humanitarian law and other laws.
He said Villarico was “responsible for the series of atrocities against government forces, the killing and liquidation of some prominent personalities, terrorist attacks on innocent communities, sabotaging government projects, and various extortion and money-making activities in Southern Tagalog.”
Villarico, currently under the custody of the Southern Police District, is also facing charges of extortion, recruitment of minors and students as NPA combatants, violation of the anti-terrorism law, and rebellion.
JTFK commander Brig. Gen. Cerilio Balaoro Jr. said they expect the communists to pursue a disinformation campaign against the military for the arrest of Villarico.
“With the arrest of Villarico, the CPP’s sectoral front organizations and the affiliated mass organizations are expected to stage massive propaganda ploys in an attempt to deceive the public and malign the government and the Philippine Army,” said Balaoro.
Balaoro said the military will remain relentless in pursuing the remaining insurgents who are sowing terror in “peace-loving communities” in Southern Tagalog.