MURDER SUSPECT. Alleged New People’s Army rebel Daniel Revil Betita, 26, is arrested by police and military operatives in a law enforcement operation on Friday (Oct. 23, 2020) in San Francisco town, Surigao del Norte. Betita is a suspect in the killing of a barangay councilor in 2018. (Photo courtesy of PRO-13 Information Office)
BUTUAN CITY – A suspected communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebel allegedly behind the killing of a village councilor in Surigao del Norte in 2018 was arrested by authorities Friday morning, a police official said.
Capt. Dorothy Tumulak, Police Regional Office in Caraga (PRO-13) public information officer, identified the suspect as Daniel Revil Betita, 26, of San Francisco town, Surigao del Norte.
“Betita was apprehended by the combined forces of San Francisco Municipal Police Station, the 1st Surigao del Norte Provincial Mobile Force Company and 29th Infantry Battalion of the Army, in a law enforcement operation conducted against wanted person around 5:20 a.m. today (Oct. 23) in Barangay Magtangale (San Francisco),” Tumulak said.
Betita was among the three suspects in the killing of Johnny Yortas Bernadez, a barangay councilor in Magtangale in ? town on July 28, 2018, Tumulak said.
PRO-13 director Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. said the suspect is an active member of Guerrilla Front 16B of the NPA's North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee.
“The arrest is part of our continuous campaign against criminality and insurgency in the Caraga Region,” Caramat said.
On Oct. 21, police and Army operatives also arrested three suspected NPA members in Agusan del Norte who have pending arrest warrants for various crimes.
“This notable accomplishment bespeaks of the dedication of the involved Philippine National Police and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) personnel and their commitment to serve and protect the Caraganons,” Caramat said. (PNA)
