ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider CPP acting chair nabbed in QC, police say

CPP acting chair nabbed in QC, police say

Published Oct 25, 2024 07:24 am
cpp npa.jpg
Joint teams from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) served a warrant of arrest to 68-year-old Wigberto Villarico alias "Baylon", the alleged acting chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), in Fairview, Quezon City on Oct. 24, 2024. (Courtesy of PNP-NCRPO)

Authorities have arrested the alleged acting chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) during a joint operation by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Quezon City on Thursday, Oct. 24.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said that Wigberto Villarico alias “Baylon”, 68, was served with a warrant of arrest for two counts of kidnapping with murder in his house in Barangay Fairview.

Police Maj. Gen. Sidney S. Hernia, acting regional director of NCRPO, said that Villarico is among the suspects in the kidnapping and murder of two victims back in 2007 in Brgy. Cagsiay, Mauban, Quezon Province.

“The case was originally filed at Regional Trial Court Branch 64 in Quezon but was transferred to Taguig City RTC Branch 266, which certified the validity of the issued warrant of arrest,” Hernia said.

The arresting team also apprehended a certain Maryjoy Lizada, 35, for obstruction of justice after she allegedly provided "false identification of the accused."

According to the NCRPO, Villarico has been using several aliases to evade arrest such as “Benjamin Mendoza”, “Alejandro Montalan”, “Lawrence”, “Joven”, “Valer”, “Mark”, “Cris”, “MJ15”, and “FR88”. 

The NCRPO said he was the secretary of the CPP-New People’s Army (NPA) Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) which operates in Calabarzon (Region 4A) and Mimaropa (Region 4B). It noted that he is also a member of the Political Bureau (Politburo) of the CPP.

In a separate statement, National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año commended the PNP and AFP for the arrest of Villarico, whom he said replaced the late Benito Tiamzon as the acting chairman of the CPP that has been waging a communist insurgency against the government since the 1960s.

“This operation is a major step in our ongoing efforts to dismantle the leadership of the communist terrorist group and bring lasting peace to our country,” Año said.

Villarico, according to the NSA, assumed leadership of the CPP after the death of Benito Tiamzon during a military encounter in Samar on Aug. 22, 2022.

Villarico’s arrest is a “significant victory in neutralizing the CPP’s leadership structure” as he is the "last Communist leader at-large capable of commanding both the party and its armed wing, the New People’s Army", Año explained.

“The operation exemplifies the unwavering dedication of our security forces to pursue justice and uphold the rule of law. Villarico's capture closes the chapter on a terrorist fugitive responsible for numerous atrocities against the people, including leading violent purges within the CPP-NPA Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee in the 1980s, where many were executed by his own hands,” the NSA noted.

Related Tags

Armed Forces of the Philippines CPP NPA NDF Philippine National Police (PNP) Eduardo Año Wigberto Villarico
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.