3 most wanted persons arrested in La Union

By Mar T. Supnad

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Regional police ntelligence operatives, acting on tips from concerned citizens, scored a major breakthrough Wednesday when they nabbed three most wanted persons one after another within three hours in La Union.

Chief Supt. Ramon V. Gatan, Region 1 police director, said here in Camp Florendo that combined elements of the Region’s Regional Special Operations Group led by Chief Inspectors Julius C. Suriben and Reynante S. Panay, and the 2nd Company of the Regional Mobile Group 1, arrested Rodolfo Pagkaliwangan, 49, a of Quezon province, in his residence at Sitio Payas, Barangay San Jose, Agoo, La Union.

He is an escaped prisoner from the Quezon Provincial Jail and is wanted for murder with monetary reward of P165,000 for his capture.

At about 7:a.m., Gatan said the police officers conducted a follow-up operation in Barangay San Antonio, also in Agoo.

This resulted in the arrest of Ruben Pagkaliwangan, 50, Rodolfo’s brother and co-accused in the killing of a certain Elpidio Lalusen in San Antonio , Quezon in 1999.

Later, at about 9 a.m., the same operating elements arrested one Niño Almoite, 33, son-in-law of the Pagkaliwangan brothers in Barangay Paringao, Bauang, La Union.

Almoite has a warrant of arrest for reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries and damage to property issued by Judge Manuel R. Aquino of MTCC Branch 1, San Fernando City, La Union.

The arrest of the three was the latest of a series of achievements in relation to PRO1’s “Impact project on most wanted persons” spearheaded by the Regional Intelligence Division headed by Sr.Supt Amando S. Lagiwid.