Army nabs two ABBs in Rizal

Two suspected members of the Communist hit squad, the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), were arrested by Army troops following a brief gunfight in Rizal province on Monday morning.

Reports reaching the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio identified the suspects as Somarado Pitaga, 24, and Charly Antigro, 39, both natives of Surigao del Norte.

Army spokesman Lt. Col Buenaventura Pascual said elements of the 80th Infantry Batallion led by 1Lt. Mamintal Dimapinto were dispatched to Sitio Maislap, Barangay San Isidro in Rodriguez town to check reports of alleged presence of armed men in the area.

At around 3:30 a.m., the Army swooped down on a rebel safehouse, reportedly owned by a certain Medraldo Teofe, but they were fired upon while approaching the place.

Following a brief firefight, the suspects surrendered. No casualty was reported from either side.

Recovered from the scene were a shotgun, ammunition for caliber .38 revolver and various subversive documents with high intelligence value.

Reports from the National Capital Region Command (NARCom) said Pitaga and Antigro claimed during interrogation that they were ABB recruits.

The ABB is a faction of the communist movement believed to be behind the series of high-profile liquidations in Metro Manila and other urban centers, especially in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.

Pitaga and Antigro were subsequently brought to the headquarters of the Alpha Company of the 80th IB while charges against them are being readied.