NPA officer falls in Butuan City

Government security forces have arrested the Mindanao finance officer of the New People Army’s (NPA) in Butuan City, a top military official announced Saturday.

Lieutenant General Benjamin Madrigal Jr., Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) chief, identified the arrested NPA ranking leader as Leonida Guao, who carries the aliases of Ka Lea, Ka Ligaya and Ka Laya.

Madrigal said Guao was arrested by joint military and police forces around 3 p.m. Friday in Barangay Bading, Butuan City.

Madrigal said Guao, who is the finance officer of the NPA “in the whole of Mindanao,” has standing warrant of arrest for murder issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 7,

Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur. Meanwhile, Madrigal expressed his appreciation for the cooperation of the different government agencies and the community that led to the arrest.

“The arrest gave justice to the victims of their atrocities, particularly those Indigenous Peoples they brutally killed, the common people who have been victimized by their extortion and terroristic activities, and those who have lost their livelihood brought about by their arson and sabotage activities,” he said.

“This arrest (of Guao) is a result of the cooperation of the whole community and the different law enforcement agencies. It also proves that the terrorists cannot run away from the long arm of the law,” he added.

SUNSTAR FILE MARCHING ON. Despite the government’s intensified campaign against them, which resulted in arrests of some of their leaders, the country’s communist rebels continue to make their presence felt in some areas. /