Police in Negros Oriental arrested a former member of the New People’s Army (NPA) charged seven years ago with the murder of a peacekeeper in Barangay Nalundan, Bindoy.

Captain Stephen Polinar, spokesperson of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, said the 29-year-old suspect was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest at Sitio Loho in Barangay Nalundan on Monday afternoon, February 9.

Murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code is a non-bailable offense.

“The suspect is a former CTG [communist terrorist group] member under the Central Negros 2 guerrilla front of the Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor,” Polinar told the Philippine News Agency yesterday.

The suspect allegedly shot to death Reynaldo Loqueloque, a member of the Barangay Intelligence Network and a village watcher, in February 2019 just outside his house.

A police report said at least 40 armed men, who claimed to be NPA members, barged into Loqueloque’s house, dragged him out and shot him.

Military authorities said all guerrilla fronts in Negros Oriental have been dismantled, but a few rebels remain.

The suspect is tagged as the No. 4 Most Wanted Person of the Negros Island Region and provincial levels, and No. 2 at the municipal level. (PNA)