BUTUAN CITY: Leaders of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Surigao del Sur want Umbid Sinzo, the captured regional adviser of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the Caraga Region, to be prosecuted and jailed.
Datu Rico Maca, the IP Mandatory Representative of the Surigao del Sur town of San Miguel, said this was the call of tribal leader who convened after receiving the report on Sinzo’s arrest.
‘Sinzo is among the brains of the NPA-supported Lumad schools in Surigao del Sur and was responsible for the recruitment of IPs, especially our youth, to join the communist movement,’ Maca said in an interview on Monday.
On Aug. 9, the Police Regional Office in Caraga (PRO-13), the Army’s 9th Special Forces Company, and the Surigao del Sur Provincial Police Office nabbed Sinzo in an operation at Fourth State, Sucat, Parañaque.
‘We are thankful to the government forces for the arrest of Sinzo, whom we consider responsible for misleading our youth and destroying their future,’ Maca said.
He said Sinzo, also an IP fr
om Lianga, is also linked to NPA killings and harassment of IP leaders in Surigao del Sur in the past years.
In a statement, the PRO-13 chief, Brig. Gen. Alan Nazarro, said Sinzo has standing arrest warrants for four counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and two counts each for rebellion, robbery, and grave coercion cases.
He said Sinzo was also among the NPA rebels who harassed the Lianga Municipal Police Station on April 28, 2011.
Source: Philippines News Agency