‘Rambo III’ captured

A suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) "operative," considered one of the most wanted criminals in the country, has been arrested in Alabang, Muntinlupa, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported yesterday.

Nasser Semporna, 37, alias Nasser Bantac and Rambo III, was nabbed near a Muntinlupa mall the other day by a joint team of the NBI and Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) agents. Semporna carried a P100,000 reward on his head.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco could not say why Semporna, who also uses the name Nasser Pangandaman, was in Metro Manila. Semporna was presented to the media during a press conference yesterday morning.

He was arrested by agents of the NBI-Reaction Arrest and Interdiction Division, headed by its chief Ruel Lasala by virtue of arrest warrants for multiple murder and kidnap for ransom charges issued by Marawi City Judges Santos Adiong ang Yusop Bansarapun.

Wycoco said Semporna came to Calamba, Laguna in February 2000 to hide his true identity after he was included in the list of the country’s most wanted persons.

Wycoco said Semporna belongs to a group of MILF guerrillas composed of 30 armed men using M-14, M-16, Garand and Carbine rifles in carrying out their illegal activities in Lanao del Sur.

Semporna’s group is believed to be behind the killing of several military personnel and civilians.

Semporna got his Rambo III tag because of his involvement with criminal activities of his stepfather Commander Pangandaman Bantak, an MILF lost command leader known as Rambo. – Cecille Suerte Felipe