Operatives from the military and police collared on Thursday morning a ranking communist leader in Quezon City, according to Philippine Army 2nd Infantry Division public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Jeffrex Molina.

Reports said that the suspect — identified as Wigberto Villarico — was apprehended in an operation by the Joint Task Force Katagalugan (JTFK) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Barangay Fairview.  

The suspect, also known as Benjamin Mendoza, Juventud del Fiero, Alejandro Montalban, Laurence, Joven, Mark, Cris, Baylon and Baler, is the secretary of the New People’s Army’s (NPA) Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) and a member of the Political Bureau (PolitBuro) of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

He has an outstanding arrest warrant for kidnapping with murder issued by the Mauban, Quezon Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 64.

“Villarico has been violating human rights, international humanitarian law, and various laws of the land as he was responsible for a series of atrocities against government forces, the killing and liquidation of prominent personalities, terrorist attacks on innocent communities, sabotaging government projects, and various extortion and money-making activities in Southern Tagalog,” Molina said.

He added that the JTFK had long suspected that Villarico was not staying in Mindoro or the Southern Tagalog area but was leading the operations of the communist organization.

Molina stressed that the arrest of Villarico would create a void in the CPP’s organizational and ideological leadership, leaving the underground movement without strategic or operational direction.

He added that the 2nd Infantry Division’s successes in recent months had led to Villarico’s eventual capture.

Meanwhile, JTFK head Brig. Gen. Cerilo Balaoro Jr. said these victories were not only a success for the people of Southern Tagalog but for all Filipinos.

“With the arrest of Villarico, the CPP’s sectoral front organizations and affiliated mass organizations are expected to stage massive propaganda ploys in an attempt to deceive the public and malign the government and the Philippine Army,” Balaoro said.