Top Maoist guerrilla leader captured

Philippine security forces arrested the head of the communist movement’s armed wing following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to target guerrilla leaders after peace talks collapsed, police and human rights activists said yesterday.

A police report seen by Reuters said Rafael Baylosis and a companion tried to flee from army and police intelligence agents who were following them but were cornered on Wednesday afternoon in the centre of the capital, Manila.

The arrests of Baylosis, 69, and Roque Guillermo was a product of intelligence and surveillance operations after a tip-off from residents in Quezon City, northeast of Manila, national police spokesman John Bulalacao said.

“Baylosis is believed to be the acting secretary of the New People’s Army,” Bulalacao said, referring to a 3,000-strong guerrilla force that has waged a war in rural areas for nearly 50 years.

The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people and stunted growth in poor but resource-rich regions of the Philippines where mines and plantations are located.

Baylosis was the first ranking rebel leader to be captured since the Philippines ended a peace process with communist rebels late last year.