AFP: Nabbed man with Casiño is 'ranking' NPA

The man arrested by soldiers in Ormoc City on Monday night is a member of the New People’s Army (NPA), Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said. Torres said Vincent “Bebot" Borja is identified with the executive committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)'s Eastern Visayas regional party committee. At about 9 p.m., around 15 Army men from the 19th Infantry Battalion barged into a house at Linao village and arrested Borja on murder charges. Borja was with Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño Jr. “He (Casino) would not leave the side of Borja so we took him with the suspect," said Torres, adding however that Casiño is not being arrested because the warrant was only for Borja. Borja was taken to Camp Downes in Burauen, Leyte with Casiño. In a separate interview, Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, public information chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, also said that Borja is believed to be a "ranking member" of the NPA. Bacarro, however, gave a different statement on Casiño’s presence when Borja was arrested. He said the lawmaker “was invited to accompany the suspect to the brigade headquarters" so that he could “witness that (Borja) will not be harmed" by soldiers. The military believes that Bayan Muna is a front organization of the CPP-NPA. Intelligence officials said Bayan Muna has been funneling funds to the communist movement to sustain its operations. - GMANews.TV