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Central Luzon cops lauded for arrest of ex-NPA leader

By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan

February 19, 2020, 12:21 pm

<p><strong>ARRESTED.</strong> Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, director of the Police Regional Office-3 (left) and Brig. Gen. Rex dela Rosa, PRO-3 deputy regional director for administration (right), present to the media former NPA leader Rodolfo Canda Salas, also known as “Kumander Bilog" who was arrested in Angeles City, Pampanga on Tuesday (Feb. 18, 2020). Salas was arrested on the strength of a warrant of arrest issued by Manila Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina on Aug. 28, 2018, for 15 counts of murder before the Regional Trial Court of Manila. <em>(PNA photo by Marna Del Rosario)</em></p>

ARRESTED. Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia, director of the Police Regional Office-3 (left) and Brig. Gen. Rex dela Rosa, PRO-3 deputy regional director for administration (right), present to the media former NPA leader Rodolfo Canda Salas, also known as “Kumander Bilog" who was arrested in Angeles City, Pampanga on Tuesday (Feb. 18, 2020). Salas was arrested on the strength of a warrant of arrest issued by Manila Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina on Aug. 28, 2018, for 15 counts of murder before the Regional Trial Court of Manila. (PNA photo by Marna Del Rosario)

MANILA -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday commended the Police Regional Office (PRO) 3 for the arrest of a former leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) in a subdivision in Angeles City, Pampanga.

“We will continue to implement legal offensive actions against the communist-terrorists groups, and all the criminal, economic and organizational support systems that sustain its terrorist activities,” PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said in a statement.

Gamboa, in particular, lauded PRO 3 chief Brig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia for the strong implementation of the Executive Order 70 or “End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) following the arrest of Rodolfo Salas aka “Kumander Bilog”.

The PRO-3 said Salas was arrested on the strength of a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina on Aug. 28, 2018, for 15 counts of murder before the Regional Trial Court of Manila.

Salas headed the NPA in 1976 after the capture of Bernabe Buscayno alias 'Kumander Dante' and chaired the CPP Central Committee after the capture of its founding chair Jose Maria Sison in 1977.

Sermonia said the former NPA leader was brought to the Regional Intelligence Division-Special Concern Unit (RID-SCU) for further investigation.

Salas was arrested in 1986 and granted amnesty in 1992 by former president Fidel V. Ramos.

“Today, we are showcasing another accomplishment in our efforts to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) in the region,” Sermonia said.

Gamboa also emphasized that the PNP is actively pursuing national government efforts to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) through a multi-sectoral undertaking. (PNA)

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