PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 8, 2014) – A government patrol arrested a communist rebel after a brief chase in the town of Lakewood in Zamboanga del Sur province in southern Philippines, officials said Tuesday.
Officials said Rene Lucasan tried to flee from the village of Gasa after seeing the soldiers and policemen patrolling the area. Troops under the 53rd Infantry Battalion headed by Lt. Col. Alvin Luzon chased Lucasan until he was cornered.
Soldiers, who are members of the 14th Division Reconnaissance Company, seized a .45-caliber pistol and a loaded magazine from Lucasan, who admitted during interrogation that he is a member of the New People’s Army which has been fighting for a separate communist state in the country.
Col. Ignacio Obligacion, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, in a report to Brig. Gen. Gerardo Barrientos Jr, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, said Lucasan was eventually handed over to the town’s police force for further investigation.
“He readily admitted that he is a member of the local militia unit of the NPA called KARA and also served as a look out and informant of the NPA in the town, Obligacion said.
Barrientos commended the soldiers and policemen for the arrest of Lucasan. “The futility of the NPA ideology is evident. Only the hardcore NPA leaders continue to believe in this irrelevant ideology,” he said. “More and more of their members are surrendering or being captured after endless days of hardship and hunger in the mountains. We are calling on the rebels who wish to return to normal and peaceful lives that the Army, the community and your family will welcome you with open arms. Everyone is a winner if there is peace and development in the country.” (Mindanao Examiner)
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