7th top kidnap gang leader captured

The No. 7 kidnapper on the 10 most wanted list of the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (Naktaf) was arrested by combined members of Naktaf and Iloilo police, President Arroyo announced yesterday.

According to Naktaf chief Angelo Reyes, Jose Lim Arunco was arrested at 8:30 p.m. Monday in Barangay Seol Norte, Iloilo by Western Visayas police and the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (Pacer), the operating arm of Naktaf.

The arrest came several weeks after Naktaf neutralized Dr. Roberto Yap Obiles, who was slain in an encounter in Dinalupihan, Bataan and arrested Allan Negres and Vilmor Catamco.

With Arunco’s arrest, the number of kidnappers still on the Naktaf most wanted list has been reduced to six.

Arunco, 41 and married, is a former member of the Philippine Army. Arunco’s aliases included Jack, Juvy and Ugay-Ugay. There is a P750,000 reward for his capture.

Naktaf said Arunco, a native of Iloilo, was involved in the separate kidnappings in 2001 of grade school students Mark John Giga and Maelin Ang in Quezon City.

Reyes recognized the participation of the barangay officials of Bakhaw, Mandurriao, Iloilo in providing the authorities with vital information that led to Arunco’s arrest.

According to background information on the suspect provided by the Naktaf, Arunco was affiliated with the Guardians Brotherhood.

Prior to his arrest, the suspect was a member of the dreaded Corpuz and Pegarido kidnap gangs. Most of these gangs’ members include dismissed and former members of the Army.

Of the eight identified members of the Corpuz kidnap gang, only Arunco and Felmor Catamco, a former Army private first class, have been arrested and put behind bars.

Reyes said the gang was named after Virgilio Corpuz, a former Army sergeant. The Corpuz gang splintered into two factions when its operations officer, Philip Pegarido, formed the Pegarido gang.

Authorities said it is possible that members of both gangs consolidate their resources, including firearms and ammunition, during their illegal activities.

Corpuz, Pegarido, financier Wilfredo Blanca and gang members Joer Bernales and Manuel Cruz remain at large.

Reyes also announced that the Naktaf’s anti-kidnapping operations have been expanded from Metro Manila to Central Luzon and the Southern Tagalog regions.

"The directives will ensure the integration of activities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces," Reyes said in a statement.

He met Tuesday with the regional directors of these regions for a more coordinated campaign against kidnap for ransom activities.

During the conference with Central Luzon director Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol and Southern Tagalog director Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Varilla, Reyes said the move to expand the anti-kidnapping drive brings the authorities a step closer to wiping out kidnapping groups in the country.

Reyes also directed Varilla and Querol to submit their respective implementing plans today in time for President Arroyo’s conference with all governors and mayors of the chartered cities in the two regions on Saturday.

He said all anti-kidnapping measures, including checkpoints and increased police visibility, are expected to be implemented in the two regions by the end of the week.