CABANATUAN CITY – Three suspected communist rebels were arrested while a cache of firearms was recovered by policemen in their alleged hide out in Barangay Pambuan, Gapan City, police said on Monday. Senior Supt. Crizaldo Nieves, Nueva Ecija police director, identified the suspects as Heribert Torres and Hilario Guiuo, who were subject of separatewarrants of arrest.
Nieves said Torres was arrested Friday by virtue of arrest warrant for murder under Criminal Case No. 5008 issued by Judge Maximo Ancheta of RTC Branch 90 in Baler, Aurora while Guiuo was subject of arrest warrant for three counts of robbery with multiple homicide under CC No. 2999-1 issued by Judge Jules Mejia of RTC Branch 69, in Iba, Zambales and CC No. 999-1, 3000-1 and 3001- 1 also issued by RTC Branch 69 and a certain Andres Lapus, a resident of San Gregorio,
Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. Nieves said that policemen under Supt. Nelson Aganon, city police chief, were serving the warrants at the premises of a certain Jun Candelaria,a religious pastor, when the lawmen allegedly caught them producing suspected subversive documents on a laptop computer. “They also found in plain view high and low powered firearms,” Nieves said.
Seized were one M-16 Armalite rifle, one M-11, one .45 pistol, two hand grenades and several rounds of bullets. Aganon said they would also look into the owner of the house for possible case of harboring criminals. The place, he said, is a residential area that no one would think could be a lair for rebels.
The suspects are now under the custody of Gapan police pending orders from the court of origin of the warrants, Aganon said. They were also charged before the Nueva Ecija provincial prosecutor’s office with violation of Republic Act 9516.
