Suspected RHB rebels fall in Pampanga checkpoint

Three suspected members of a breakaway communist group fell into government hands Thursday night at a military checkpoint in Pampanga, a regional commander said. A text message from Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, commander of the Army's 703rd Brigade, identified those arrested as Romeo Dianela Nunez alias Nelson, reportedly a ranking leader of the MLPP-RHB (Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines-Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan) in Pampanga; Ferdinan Quiambao alias Julius/Ferdie; Jerry Lais and Zoren Espiritu. All were apprehended at a checkpoint along McArthur Highway in San Miguel village in Guagua town around 9 p.m. Thursday, Mabanta said. Confiscated from them were an Elisco M16 rifle with 1 magazine and 30 live ammos; a cal. 45 pistol with a magazine loaded with 7 live ammos; and three hand grenades. Further investigation showed that Nunez and Quiambao have a string of warrants of arrest for murder and frustrated murder charges in Lubao. The US-based National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism describes the RHB as the armed wing of the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines (MLPP), a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Formed in 1998, the group operates mainly in Central Luzon. — RSJ, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV