Top NPA leader detained in Aklan

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The captured top female official of New People’s Army (NPA) in Panay Island is now detained in Kalibo, Aklan.

Maria Concepcion Araneta Bocala, who is suffering from ulcer, diabetes and pneumonia, is presently under the custody of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Barangay Nalook in Kalibo, Aklan. The senior communist leader is a student activist from the University of the Philippines who went underground after the First Quarter Storm in the early 1970s.

Bocala, 65, alias “Ka Concha/Etang/Meryl/Martha” is the secretary general of the Komite Rehiyonal Panay of the Communist Party of the Philippines that covers the provinces of Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan.

She was arrested in a joint police and military operation on August 1 in a rented house in Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City by virtue of a warrant of arrest for murder with Criminal Case Number 1494 issued by Regional Trial Court 6, Branch 2 in Kalibo, Aklan.

Recovered by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Philippine Army’s 3rd  Infantry Division (ID) were  P200,000 in cash, a grenade, a .45 caliber pistol, a .22 caliber revolver, ammunition, a laptop computer, 13 mobile phones, computer hard drives, compact and floppy discs and a pair of binoculars from the suspect’s house.

Charges of illegal possession of explosives and firearms would also be filed against Araneta and her companions, identified as Joseph Cariaga, and helper, Anniely Soldevilla, who were also arrested last Saturday morning. 

Bocala had a P7.8 million bounty on her head.

In a related report, a safe conduct pass is said to be issued to Remi Estrella, a nom de guerre of Bocala, under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) with serial No. ND978245. It was issued by Luis Jalandoni, National Democratic Front (NDF) chief international representative and head of the negotiating panel of the rebel group. 

In 1995, the Philippine government and NDF signed the agreement to ensure the safety of both government officials and rebel leaders involved in peace talks.