A pastor of a Methodist church, who, along with 20 others were charged for the killing of five policemen during an ambush in Mindoro Occidental last year, was arrested Sunday night inside his church compound in Mamburrao town.
Reports reaching Camp Crame showed Pastor Melchor Abesamis was wanted by the court for separate charges of murder, multiple murder and theft.
Chief Superintendent Luisito Palmera, MIMAROPA director said the suspect, Abesamis alias Ka Emong, 40, did not resist arrest when cornered at his church compound located at Barangay Payongpan in Mamburrao.
“The suspect was apprised of his Constitutional rights and his arrest was witnessed by his wife Margeline,” said Palmera in an interview.
The MIMAROPA director said the arrest of Abesamis was based on an arrest warrant issued on March 11 by Judge Jose Jacinto Jr., executive judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 46 in San Jose, Mindoro Occidental.
Palmera said Abesamis is the secretary of the Regional United Front Bureau of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). He, too, is the chairman of the Karapatan Mindoro Occidental chapter.
Abesamis was among the 21 communists charged with the murder of five policemen who were killed in an ambush in San Jose town on March 10, 2007.
The policemen, belonging to the 407th Provincial Police Mobile Group (PPMG) were on their way for deployment for poll duties when ambushed, Palmera said.
Elements of the local police headed by its commander Senior Inspector Ferdinand Ancheta and operatives from the 408th PPMG, Provincial Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, Military Intelligence Group (MIG) and Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) served Jacinto’s warrant at 7:20 p.m. Sunday.
Abesamis was subjected to a tactical interview before being turned over to the custody of Jacinto. Palmera said Abesamis refused to comment on his arrest.
However, the local Karapatan chapter issued a statement saying there is no basis for the arrest of Abesamis.