Negros NPA leader nabbed

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A ranking member of the New People’s Army on Negros Island and two other rebels were arrested in Barangay Su-ay in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental yesterday.

Ramon Patriarca, secretary of the Komiteng Rehiyonal-Negros, and John Michael Baldonado and Carmen Jonahville Matarlo were apprehended by joint police and military teams, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said.

He said a KG-9 automatic pistol with magazines loaded with bullets, two .45-caliber pistols, two fragmentation grenades, cellular phones, bullets for AK-47 assault rifles and subversive documents were among the items recovered from the rebels.