Police arrest 3 top communist leaders in NLuzon

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday arrested three high-ranking officials of the New People’s Army (NPA) operating in Northern Luzon, police authorities reported Thursday. Presented to PNP chief Director General Jesus A. Verzosa at the police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City were Edgar Molina alias "Bobby," commanding officer of the Kilusang Larangang Gerilya-Northern Luzon Command; Edwin Balaoag, executive officer; and Rosemarie Domingo alias "Ka Ramses," medical officer. Mr. Verzosa said Molina, who is also secretary of the NPA-Abra chapter, is in the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) most-wanted list. "He has a P1-million bounty." He said the three suspects, along with NPA founder Jose Ma. Sison who is on self-exile in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and about a hundred other rebels are facing arrest warrants issued by the Abra regional trial court in 2007 on charges of murder and multiple murder. Mr. Verzosa said the three NPA leaders, and the surrender of other NPA rebels in the past months, "is an indication that the police and the military have significantly degraded the strength and the number of these communist groups." He placed the NPA’s number at around 5,000 nationwide, from around 25,000 during the early 1980s. The Executive on Wednesday said it is open to holding another Christmas truce with communist rebels, although it will still await the recommendation of the security group composed of the departments of National Defense and Interior and Local Government, the military and police. The NPA’s mother unit, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), was founded on Dec. 26, 1968 by Mr. Sison. Terrorist label The government tried to hold peace talks with the rebels but these collapsed in 2004 after the United States and the European Union placed them on its blacklist of terrorist groups. The CPP has insisted that it will not return to the negotiating table unless the terrorist tag is lifted. Government peace negotiators tried last week to resurrect the stalled talks in Oslo, Norway, but this failed after the two parties did not agree on ceasefire mechanisms. Last year, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Proclamation 1377, which seeks to grants amnesty to rebels who will surrender their weapons and return to the fold of the law. A P500-million budget was set aside for the livelihood of rebel-returnees. The amnesty will be processed through local government units. A rebel who will be covered by the amnesty program will be absolved of criminal liabilities committed in pursuit of political beliefs. In addition, political and civil rights will be restored such as the right to vote and to hold public office. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the military to quash the communist rebellion before she steps down in 2010. — Elizabeth T. Marcelo, BusinessWorld