A RANKING leader of the communist insurgency movement, long wanted for a string of crimes, was arrested by a combined team of the Army and the police on Thursday in Cagayan de Oro City.
The suspect, identified as Edward Flores, also known by multiple aliases including Cess, Ruby, Rafa, and Ramon, was apprehended through a coordinated operation of troopers from the 6th Infantry (Kampilan) Division and the 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division of the Philippine Army, and elements of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Regions 10, 11, and 12.
According to reports, Flores served as secretary of the Far South Mindanao Region (FSMR) of the communist insurgency movement that operates across an extensive area within the 6ID’s jurisdiction.
Once a powerful figure, Flores’ group has significantly weakened due to sustain decisive military operations that dismantled vertical platoon and neutralization of majority of its leaders and remaining members, the report stated.
Flores was also known to hold positions such as secretary of Regional Urban Committee, secretary of Dismantled Guerilla Front TALA, and spokesman of FSMR.
Brig. Gen. Michael Santos, commander of the 603rd Infantry Brigade, emphasized the tactical impact of Flores’ arrest.
“The arrest of Edward Flores marks another critical blow to the already crumbling structure of the communist insurgency within the area of responsibility of the 603rd Brigade. In fact, we have already filed multiple cases against him for acts of terrorism and for recruiting vulnerable youth into armed rebellion. His capture is a major setback to their ranks and operations,” Santos stated.
Flores allegedly faces charges of murder, attempted homicide, and violation of the anti-terrorism law.
Upon his arrest, authorities recovered from Flores a Colt .45 caliber pistol, a fragmentation grenade, and a smartphone suspected to contain sensitive communication data.
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Donald Gumiran, chief of the 6th Infantry (Kampilan) Division and Joint Task Force Central, emphasized the continued progress in dismantling communist terrorist groups (CTGs).
“We will remain determined in our efforts to significantly reduce the capabilities of these terrorist criminals to harass innocent civilians. As the CTG continues to lose key leaders and more members, we will continue our pursuit until they are defeated. With the support of our civilian population and partner stakeholders under the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC), we will not rest until this decades-long problem is resolved,” Gumiran said.