Chief Superintendent Roberto Delfin, head of the Philippine National Police-Intelligence Group, said Joselito Esquerra and Arnel Ramos were arrested in Monumento, Caloocan City by joint elements of the PNP’s Task Force Sanlahi, Southern Tagalog Police and the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division. Seized from their possession were unlicensed firearms and explosives.
Background investigation on Esquerra revealed that he is the newly-elected head of the military bureau of the PMLP while Ramos was head of MB’s Strategic Intelligence Group.
Police added that Esquerra directly supervises the National Operation Command, which is believed to be the group’s armed component.
The group dropped the use of the ABB as the name of its armed component during the founding Congress of the PMLP last Nov. 7 to 10.
In a press statement released to selected Metro Manila reporters last month, the newly-founded PMLP described itself as the replacement of the splintered Communist Party of the Philippines.
They said the group has opted to go fully underground and will concentrate on armed operations in support of their ideals.
PNP Task Force Sanlahi and IG deputy director, Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal, said the arrests thwarted the reported liquidation plan for three prominent persons in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Authorities said the PMLP’s targets included Bert Nodalos, owner of the chain of Nodalo’s Muffler Centers, a ranking security officer of the Moldex Factory in Bulacan, and an alleged rapist wanted in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
"The arrests effectively neutralized the planned tactical operations of the PMLP’s National Operational Command that are supposed to serve as the party’s opening salvo," Caringal said.
According to Chief Superintendent Domingo Reyes, Southern Tagalog police director, the arrests of the two top-ranking leaders of the Marxist group weakened threats from ideological groups waging armed conflicts in the country.
"They are now in the custody of the Southern Tagalog police for documentation and filing of cases for illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions," he said. – Christina Mendez