GOVERNMENT security forces delivered another blow to the regional financial and logistical capability of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels with the capture of a member of its extortion team on Tuesday evening.

Maj. Enrico Gil Ileto, chief of the 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that Sarah Alvarez, alias Olsen, was arrested in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental province by joint elements of the 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) and the Philippine National Police.

According to Ileto, the suspect has a standing warrant of arrest issued by Judge Nuñez of RTC, Branch 60, Cadiz City for her alleged involvement in the murder of 1Lt. Archie Polenzo of 62IB in Cadiz City in 2010 and the armed robbery of a fishpond in Sagay city in 2011.

“This will cripple their extortion activities”, Col. Oscar Lactao, 303rd Brigade Commander, said.

“Her significance is evident with her direct links with financial and logistics bureaus of the NPA movement within Northern Negros province and the island as a whole. She plays an important role in the Northern Negros Front’s (NNF) extortion activities,” he added.

The military claimed that the successful operations against the NPAs were all made possible by the information provided by local residents, a clear indication, he pointed out, that the revolutionary organization has already alienated the people and the communities where they got their support through their forced extortion activities.