A ranking official of the communist movement in Negros Occidental was arrested by government troops in Kabankalan City over the weekend.”‹
Lt. Col. Egberto Dacoscos, commander of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, identified the rebel leader as Mary Grace Delicano, alias “Tingting/Cleo/Karyle,” an executive committee member of the Negros Island Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Delicano was on board a Toyota Innova along with four individuals believed to be new recruits of the New Peoples’ Army when she was apprehended by authorities at a checkpoint Friday evening.
Dacoscos identified Delicano’s companions as Richard Baylosis Serapin, Arnold Collastes Villegas, Wildie Pacle Adal and Eric James Salcedo.
Delicano was the third ranking communist leader to be captured in Negros Occidental after the arrests of Aurora Cayon, deputy secretary of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee and Louie Antonio Martinez, a logistics officer of the CPP-NPA.
Dacoscos said Delicano headed the CPP’s Regional Education Department that is responsible for the production of propaganda manuals, publications, and leaflets and the conduct of research work.
The communist rebel was arrested on the basis of a warrant for murder issued by Kabankalan City acting presiding Judge Fernando Elumba
Government troops recovered a Macbook laptop; one Acer tablet; two USB flash drives; one external hard drive; medical supplies; three notebooks and subversive documents with high intelligence value.
“The capture of Delicano is a proof that the NPA ideology is an ideology of criminals,” the military official said.
“Having someone with a criminal record for murder as the lead educator of the communist ideology puts their teachings under scrutiny—What is her credibility to become a teacher? What are they really teaching the masses?’ Dacoscos said.
