Army: Another CPP official in govt hands

Another suspected leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines has fallen into government hands, the commanding general of the Philippine Army said Wednesday. In a text message to reporters, Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz identified the rebel leader as Ericson Legaspi Acosta alias Augusto Lim, reportedly the new deputy secretary general of the Samar Provincial Party of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee. Ortiz said Acosta, 37, was nabbed by operating troops of the 38th Infantry Battalion around 10 a.m. last Sunday in Barangay Bay-ang in San Jorge town in Samar. Ortiz described Acosta as a former member of the National Instructors Bureau of the National Education Department of the CPP Central Committee. It was not immediately known why the arrest was announced only this Wednesday. Acosta's apprehension came even ahead of that of Alan Jazmines, who was nabbed Monday night in Bulacan, a day before the resumption of the formal peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front in Norway. Jazmines is reportedly an executive committee and politburo member of the Central Committee of the CPP-NPA (New People's Army).

In early January this year, the Philippine Army also announced the arrest of Tirso Alcantra, alias Ka Bart, reportedly the commander of the Regional Operational Command of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee. On Tuesday, the NDF demanded the release of Jazmines, describing the arrest as an attempt at disrupting the peace negotiations by the military and police. The NDF had also earlier demanded the release of Alcantara, claiming the latter is covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) which the government and NDF panels inked during the Ramos administration. The list of those covered by the agreement is currently being kept in a safety deposit box by an archbishop in The Netherlands, as required under the JASIG. — RSJ, GMA News