The leadership of New People's Army (NPA) rebels continues to suffer a debacle over the weekend with the capture of another top communist leader, together with his wife in Cebu, the military said Sunday.
This brought to six the number of NPA rebels captured by the military the past three days.
Maj. Gen. Jose Z. Mabanta Jr., commander of 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division of the Philippine Army, confirmed to the Philippines News Agency the arrest of Calixto Vistal, a top regional NPA commander in the Visayas, by military operatives in Mandaue, Cebu last Friday.
Jimmyliza Badayos Vistal, wife of Calixto, was also arrested.
Vistal, alias Cocoy, Fred and Isom, was arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant number 2012-21370 for murder issued by Judge Roderick Maxino, Branch 32 Judicial region in Dumaguete City.
His wife, Jimmyliza, alias Jill, Cecile and Mayet, was arrested for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Both are now detained at the Cebu City police office.
"The long arm of the law has finally fallen upon them," Mabanta said in an e-mail to PNA.
Calixto used to command NPA forces in Leyte and Bohol. But Bohol was declared an insurgency-free province.
Mabanta said "Cocoy certainly would not able to go back to the provinces of Leyte and Bohol. Their presence in Cebu was also not for them with insurgency in these provinces a thing of the past."
"Bohol, Cebu and Leyte provinces have been declared insurgency-free," he said.
Military records show that Vistal, formerly led the NPA forces in Bohol, currently heads the regional armed group in southeastern Negros island while Jimmyliza was the former technical committee head of the same Negros group.
Vistal was involved in several NPA violent actions in Bohol, Leyte and Negros islands, including the raid of two police camps in Bohol in 1999.
He was also involved in the encounter with Special Forces of the Philippine Army in 2000, killing 2nd Lt. Socrates Que and some soldiers.
In 2003 Vistal led in the burning of the heavy equipment of then Mayor Boy Jumamoy of Inabanga, Bohol and a certain Memong, a businessman of same town.
He was also involved in the encounter with security forces in Leyte in 2006 and in Bohol in 2007.
Vistal was also the suspect in the killing of a certain Basilio Casido in Siaton, Negros Oriental recently.
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