Hussein Abdulmanan, a member of the Abu Sayyaf gang, was arrested here on Saturday, military Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya said.
"He is one of the guards that kept Martin Burnham in Zamboanga del Norte" province last year, shortly before he was slain by the rebels during a rescue attempt by the Philippine military, Abaya said.
Abaya said the captured rebel had admitted guarding Burnham and fighting off the rescuers but did not say if the suspect had any role in the American’s murder.
Abdulmanan had a P1-million bounty on his head. Abaya would not disclose details of his arrest.
The Abu Sayyaf kidnapped a group of tourists including Martin Burnham and his wife and fellow missionary Gracia from a resort in Palawan in May 2001.
The gunmen later beheaded one of the American captives, Guillermo Sobero. Martin Burnham and a Filipina hostage were slain during the rescue attempt that sprang Gracia Burnham.
The Abu Sayyaf has been kidnapping foreigners and Christians and holding them for ransom in the southern Philippines in recent years.
The group is still holding three Indonesian seamen and four Filipina preachers hostage on the southern island of Jolo.
Both Washington and Manila have linked the group to the al-Qaeda network, blamed for deadly attacks on US targets around the world. – With Roel Pareño