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5 members of NPA breakaway group nabbed in Pampanga


Government security forces on Tuesday night arrested five suspected members of Rebolusyunaryong Hukbong Bayan (RHB), a breakaway group of the communist New People’s Army (NPA), in Pampanga province. Military information chief Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said the suspects were arrested in a follow-up operation at Villa Barcelona in Barangay Sindalan in San Fernando City around 11:30 p.m. The arresting team was composed of soldiers from the Army's 703rd Infantry Brigade, 7th Civil Military Operations Battalion, and members of the Intelligence group of the Pampanga provincial police. Officials believed the five were part of the group that engaged police and military forces in a firefight at Barangay Sta. Cruz in Mexico City, also in Pampanga, last July 30. The arrested suspects reportedly belonged to the Area Party Collective (APC) of RHB’s southeast Pampanga chapter. The five were Lenin Canda Salas, APC chapter secretary; Jerry Simbulan, APC chapter commanding officer; Daniel Joseph Navaro; Jose Gomez; and Rodwyn Tala. They were on board a white Mitsubishi Gallant (OFW 688) when arrested. Seized from the suspects were four M-16 rifles, a light Anti-Tank weapon, three pistols, and 14 magazines, as well as documents of high intelligence value and other personal belongings. The arrested individuals were placed under the custody of the Pampanga provincial police, said Col. Ernie Benitez, commander of the 703rd Brigade. The police said multiple warrants of arrest had earlier been issued against the five men. Formed in 1998, the RHB emerged after splitting from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA. The RHB is the armed wing of the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Philippines (MLPP). — Mark Dalan Merueñas/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV

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