CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — A 40-year-old man listed as Guimba town’s fourth most wanted person is now in police custody following a pre-dawn operation in Batangas on 3 February 2026, the Police Regional Office 3 said.

The suspect, a resident of Barangay Bantug in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, was arrested at around 1 a.m. in Barangay Namunga, Rosario, Batangas through a coordinated interprovincial operation.

Personnel from the Guimba Municipal Police Station, Rosario Municipal Police Station, the 303rd Maneuver Company, the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 3, and the 3rd Forward Operating Base of the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company took part in the arrest.

Police said the suspect faces three counts of rape. The warrant of arrest, issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 31 in Guimba, carries no recommendation for bail.

Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office chief Heryl Bruno said the arrest highlights law enforcement’s ability to pursue fugitives beyond local boundaries.

“We don’t stop at city or province lines – those who flee will not outrun accountability,” Bruno said, adding that the operation forms part of PRO3’s intensified campaign against wanted persons in line with the Philippine National Police’s national agenda.

PRO3 Regional Director Ponce Rogelio Peñones Jr. lauded the interprovincial coordination that led to the arrest.

“This arrest is proof that our forces are synchronized and committed to bringing justice to victims, no matter where perpetrators try to hide,” Peñones said.

The suspect is currently detained at the Guimba Municipal Police Station as legal proceedings move forward.