Ranking communist leader, wife nabbed in QC, Bulacan –military

Law enforcement authorities on Monday arrested an alleged ranking communist leader and his wife in separate operations in Quezon City and Bulacan province, the military said Tuesday.

In a news release, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) identified the arrested suspects as Ernesto Lorenzo a.k.a. Ernie Lorenzo and his wife Joyce Felicia Latayan.

It said Lorenzo, who was arrested at the Gilmore Commercial Plaza in Quezon City around 12:15 p.m., is the Communist Party of the Philippines' 1st deputy secretary in the Southern Tagalog Region and also a member of the CPP's Executive Committee of Southern Tagalog Region.

The military added that Lorenzo also heads the CPP's Regional Organization Department and a former secretary of the communist group's Komiteng Probinsyal of the Quezon and Laguna provinces.

Meanwhile, Latayan was arrested in their residence in Barangay Tungkong Mangga in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan at around 2:10 p.m. on Monday.

The military said Lorenzo has an active warrant of arrest for destructive arson since 2010 while Latayan has been wanted for a criminal case since 2008.

Both suspects are currently detained in Camp Crame, main headquarters of the Philippine National Police. —Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News