CIDG arrests 3 ranking CPP-NPA officials in General Santos City


Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested on Sunday night, Jan. 30, three ranking officials of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) in a raid in General Santos City.

Nabbed were Ruben Abenir Saluta, identified as the secretary of the National Propaganda Commission of the CPP Central Committee and former secretary of the Panay Regional Party Committee (PRPC); Presentacion Cordon Saluta, reportedly head of the Komiteng Rehyonal Panay (KR- Panay); and, Yvonne Losaria, tagged as the leader of the Sentro-De-Gravidad, Guerrilla Front 35, Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC).

CIDG director Police Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat said the operation stemmed from a report about the presence of the three in Phase 5, Doña Soledad, Brgy Labangal, General Santos City.

Armed with arrest warrants for rebellion and murder charges against the three, CIDG operatives swooped down on the area and arrested the three alleged CPP-NPA leaders.

Seized from them were several guns, cellular phones, laptops and other gadgets, and other documents.

Based on the CIDG data, Ruben Saluta is facing several counts of murder while Presentacion Saluta faces a case of rebellion before a court in Antique. Losaria, on the other hand, is also facing a case of rebellion.

The three were taken to the CIDG Central Mindanao headquarters along with the guns and other documents seized from them.