MANILA: Philippine forces Wednesday captured a top communist rebel commander and his aide in a raid against the communist New People's Army (NPA) after a 19-day holiday truce. Tirso Alcantara alias “Bart” and his companion Apolonio Cuarto alias “Polly” were captured in Lucena City, Army commanding general, Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz said in a statement. Alcantara sustained a gunshot wound in his buttocks after a firefight with a combined Army and police unit. The captured rebel leader has 23 pending warrants of arrest for multiple murder cases. Ortiz said the two were arrested on Tuesday in Lucena, Quezon province. Troops seized from them a .45 caliber pistol with two magazines loaded with ammunition, two hand grenades, nine pieces of blasting caps, and detonating cord. Col. Generoso Bolina, Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) spokesman, said the soldierrs were out to serve the warrants against Alcantara after residents tipped off the authorities of the presence of the NPA leader in their area. Alcantara tried to escape by riding a motorcycle driven by Cuarto but the two were intercepted at a military checkpoint. Upon seeing the soldiers, Alcantara drew his gun and fire, prompting the troopers to return fire, with one of the bullets hitting the NPA leader in the buttocks. Bolina said Alcantara's arrest will have a major impact on the morale of the NPA forces. In a statement Wednesday, the underground Communist Party demanded the release of Alcantara “before the resumption of formal peace talks,” saying he is one of the rebels' consultants in the negotiations. Alcantara is covered by a joint agreement granting security and safe conduct passes to consultants in the talks, the statement said, adding that his lawyers and doctors should be allowed to visit him. Alex Padilla, the chief government peace negotiator, acknowledged that the arrest of Alcantara was an issue and concern to the rebels “but it is also clear to both sides that there are no preconditions to the talks.” He also said Alcantara's name was not on the list of rebel consultants submitted to the government. Padilla said, however, that there are “other ways” to determine if Alcantara was a consultant and the government peace panel would make “appropriate representations” with the courts to allow him to continue participating in the talks if he was. According to the military, battle setbacks, surrenders, infighting and loss of foreign support have reduced the guerrilla force to less than 5,000 from a peak of 25,000 in the 1980s, during the reign of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. From their jungle camps, the rebels have carried out hit-and-run ambushes. They operate a shadow government in areas under their influence, dispensing justice including trials – and sometimes executions – of erring policemen and village officials. They also collect “revolutionary taxes” _ and punish businesses refusing to pay. The government blames the rebellion for stunting economic development through extortion and attacks. The U.S. and European Union have blacklisted the guerrillas as a terrorist organization, a stumbling block that led to the 2004 breakdown in Norwegian-brokered talks. Quezon provincial police chief Ericson Velasquez said Alcantara used to be a spokesman for a rebel unit that had successfully hit government troops and seized several soldiers, then was promoted as the head of the Communist Party organ giving political guidance to the NPA. Alcantara was transferred to a military hospital Wednesday, Ortiz said. He is facing 23 warrants for murder.
