4 alleged rebels nabbed in Batangas

Rosario, Batangas — Joint elements of police and army here nabbed four suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) while conducting a mobile checkpoint at Barangay Baybayin of this town Wednesday evening, police said.

P/Chief Inspector Archival Macala, town police chief and T/Sgt. Wally Sadsad of 20th Special Force Company of the Philippine Army led the team and arrested the four suspects while in possession of four caliber .45 pistols and 28 rounds of ammunitions, three pieces rifle grenade and two pieces fragmentation hand grenades.

Police identified the suspects as Ivanhoe Barba, 31 years old, a second year college student of University of the Philippines (Los Baños Laguna); Efren Baay, 47 years old, resident of San Juan, Balayan, Batangas; Efren Diaz, 31 years old of Lian and Arthur Gonzales, 29 years old of Barangay Calayo, Nasugbu while on board a passenger type jeep with plate number DHK-409 driven by a certain Jason Amada.

According to reports, the four suspects became wary when they were stopped at the checkpoint. Investigators said the suspects even tried to escape from the approaching police who became suspicious of their actions.

When frisked, police also recovered voluminous subversive documents, three cellphones, a laptop computer and a hard disc drive. — Arnell Ozaeta