RP'S MOST WANTED CRIMINAL FALLS
[PHOTO AT LEFT - IN THE BAG: President Arroyo and Philippine National Police chief Director General Edgar Aglipay present to the press at the Presidential Security Group headquarters at Malacañang Ricardo Peralta, the country’s most wanted criminal who was arrested in San Fernando, Pampanga yesterday. Photo by WILLY PEREZ ]
MANILA, October 28 , 2004 (STAR) By Christina Mendez and Ric Sapnu - Authorities announced yesterday the arrest of a local communist leader tagged as the most wanted criminal by the Philippine National Police.
PNP chief Director General Edgar Aglipay said Ricardo Peralta, who has a P1.2-million bounty on his head, was arrested by police intelligence agents at the SM department store in San Fernando City, Pampanga last Tuesday night.
Aglipay said Peralta will stand trial for several cases of murder and kidnapping.
Peralta was presented to President Arroyo yesterday by Aglipay, who also submitted his one-month accomplishment report since he took over as PNP chief.
The President congratulated Aglipay and the PNP regional offices in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog for the capture of Peralta.
Peralta was supposed to be brought before the media at Camp Crame but Mrs. Arroyo took the opportunity to present the suspect at Malacañang to highlight the accomplishment made by the arresting officers.
"Because the peace and order situation has been very good, I’ve really left the peace and order management to our uniformed services," Mrs. Arroyo said.
"Today, I could not help make an exception because I want to congratulate the PNP for getting the No. 1 in their whole wanted list," she said.
As Peralta was presented to the President, Aglipay highlighted his one-month accomplishments since taking over the PNP.
"As of now… out of the 17,320 inventoried unsolved cases for the last three years, we have already solved 1,202," Aglipay told Mrs. Arroyo.
Aglipay said the police got a break when intelligence agents started tailing Peralta’s wife, Tess, early this month.
"After we received information that Peralta is within our area of operations, we started the surveillance. We had three attempts but failed in the first two tries arresting him. So we started tailing his wife whom we learned to have (been) discreetly seeing him in the past few days," one of the arresting lawmen told The STAR.
New Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Quirino de la Torre said police tailed Peralta’s wife from their home to the SM mall.
Peralta did not resist arrest after being accosted by lawmen.
Peralta is the leader of the "Red Vigilante Group," tagged behind the gangland-style killing of several suspected drug traffickers in Nueva Ecija, Aurora and Pangasinan in 2000 as well as a string of kidnapping cases.
The group was said to be a faction of the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), the urban hit squad of the communist New People’s Army.
Peralta headed the breakaway group which also acted as private army of a politician and a businessman in Central Luzon, police said.
Superintendent Pierre Bucsit said they are now building the cases against the politician and a businessman who recruited Peralta as "gun for hire."
Bucsit did not identify the politician and the businessman for security reasons.
Police said Peralta also recruited some remnants of the so-called "Bonnet Gang" involved in high profile highway robbery incidents in Central Luzon.
Peralta is facing 18 murder cases in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan. Among them is the kidnap-slay of father and son Julio and Julius Alejo in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija on Oct. 7, 2001.
Barely two months ago, Peralta joined the Revolutionary Proletarian Army/ABB, a breakaway faction of the communist NPA.
With the arrest of Peralta and his name taken off the most wanted list, former police superintendent Rafael Cardeno was placed in the rogue’s gallery along with the country’s 19 most wanted criminals.
Cardeno was listed No. 18 in the PNP’s most wanted list released yesterday by PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil.
Cardeno is wanted for the murder of Young Officers Union spokesman Baron Cervantes on Dec. 31, 2001.
With the exception of Peralta, the former police officer now joins the ranks of notorious criminals which include Corey Dickpus, with P1-million reward for his capture; Eduardo "Boy" Iran, P1 million; brothers Rolando and Harold Fajardo, at P1 million each.
One of the most wanted kidnappers, Eddie Trinidad, is now the subject of extradition following his arrest in the United States recently.
Cardeno, on the other hand, remains a fugitive after being implicated in the killing of Cervantes in Las Piñas.
Cervantes reportedly threatened to spill the beans against Cardeno for alleged irregularities at the Land Transportation Office where he was detailed under the office of former LTO chief Edgardo Abenina, a retired general and YOU officer. - With Marichu Villanueva, AFP