Informant in Balweg capture to get P1 million

MANILA, Philippines - The informant in the capture of top Abra rebel leader Jovencio Balweg will receive P1 million, part of which he intends to finance the education of his children.

Chief Superintendent Orlando Pestano, Cordillera police director, said the informant is a family man and had known Balweg and his family.

“It was the patience and perseverance of this informant that greatly helped us capture Balweg,” Pestano said.

Senior Superintendent Alex Pumecha, Cordillera police intelligence chief, said the informant walked into his office one morning last December saying that he saw Balweg seeking treatment in a hospital in Abra. Pumecha was then the Abra police director.

Balweg, alias Ka Rudy and Ka Dawa, had been wanted for the 1999 killing of his brother, rebel priest Conrado Balweg.

Police records showed that Balweg was also being sought for other killings in the Cordillera, prompting the Department of the Interior and Local Government to offer a P1-million reward for his capture.

Pumecha said it was only last February, after he had assumed the post as Cordillera police intelligence chief, that he prepared a “Comprehensive Plan (ComPlan) Dawa” for Balweg’s capture, with the informant playing a key role in it.

“Three months of surveillance and frustrating car chases that started from the pine-covered mountains of Lace and Malibcong towns in the hinterlands of Abra, and through the sleepy towns of Ilocos Sur and La Union up to the teeming, traffic-choked streets of Baguio City finally culminated with the arrest of Balweg last May 18,” he said.

Balweg was on board an owner-type jeep registered under the name of a relative when the police, accompanied by the informant, cornered him. He gave a different name but failed to hoodwink his captors.

After admitting his true identify, Balweg worked for the surrender of his wife, Carmen, and son, Jovencio Jr., alias Ka Duffy, both ranking rebel leaders in Abra.

Pumecha said they are now preparing the necessary documents for the informant to receive his reward early.