OPERATIVES of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested a former communist terrorist group (CTG) member wanted for a high-profile 2020 murder during a manhunt operation in Barangay Mat-i, Surigao City, on Sept. 24, 2026.
According to a report submitted to CIDG director PMGEN Robert AA Morico II, joint elements of the CIDG Surigao del Norte Provincial Field Unit and the Surigao City Component Police Station nabbed the 35-year-old fugitive around 10:25 a.m.
The suspect, a resident of Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte, was cornered by virtue of an outstanding warrant of arrest for murder issued by a court in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur on July 20, 2020, with no recommended bail.
2020 killing recalled
Authorities identified the suspect as a former member of the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) previously assigned to Sentro de Gravidad 21, Guerrilla Front 16, under the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), and listed in the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 2020 Periodic Status Report.
Investigators detailed that the arrest stems from the April 14, 2020 killing in Barangay Magroyong, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur.
The suspect, alongside 12 other individuals allegedly acting in conspiracy, shot a CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) member in the face, inflicting fatal wounds that caused the victim’s immediate death.
CIDG leadership lauded the operating units, led by RFU 13 acting regional chief PLTCOL Butch Ian C. Miñoza and Surigao del Norte Provincial Field Unit head PLTCOL Darwin B. Dura, highlighting that the capture brings long-overdue justice to the victim’s family and deals another blow to remnant security threats in the region.
