Philippines Captures Major Communist Leader

Soldiers captured one of the Philippines’ most prominent Communist leaders Thursday, and officials hailed the arrest as a major setback for the 20-year-old Marxist insurgency.

Satur Ocampo, a suspected member of the ruling Politburo of the banned Communist Party of the Philippines and head of the National Democratic Front, was arrested with his common-law wife, Carolina Malay, in suburban Makati, the military said.

Military officials said the two will be charged with subversion. Ocampo may also face murder and kidnaping charges in connection with the deaths of scores of rebels during a recent purge, the military added.

Ocampo and Malay, both 50-year-old former journalists, served as negotiators for the rebels during peace talks with President Corazon Aquino’s government. The talks collapsed in January, 1987.

At a news conference after his arrest, Ocampo said he and Malay were riding in their car when another vehicle cut them off. Three pistol-wielding soldiers then jumped from the car and arrested them, he said.

Last week, the military offered a $47,600 reward for Ocampo and $23,800 for Malay. The military chief of staff, Gen. Renato de Villa, said a civilian informant helped in the arrests, but he had no further details.

Aquino congratulated the military and hailed the captures as an “outstanding feat.” She has vowed to crush the rebellion by the end of her term in 1992.

As head of the National Democratic Front, Ocampo was in charge of the party’s efforts to organize supporters among students, farmers, clerics, teachers and others. The front is an umbrella organization of 12 Marxist groups, including the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army.

Ocampo was formerly assistant business editor of the Manila Times. He was arrested for subversion in 1976 but escaped in 1985.