NPA leader, Fil-Am nabbed in Laguna operation

An alleged leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) and a Filipino-American woman believed connected to the communist group have been arrested in Cabuyao, Laguna, the military reported yesterday. The arrest of Binay Serrano and Cristina Pasion by a joint team of the police and military was part of a sustained campaign to dismantle remaining rebel groups in Southern Tagalog, according to Col. Michael Aquino, public affairs office chief of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division. Reports said the team served an arrest warrant on Serrano, said to be the medical and logistics officer of the NPA. Probers said Serrano was with Pasion when the team arrested him on charges of murder. Aquino said Pasion was reportedly spotted with another fellow Filipino-American, Chantal Anicoche, and a group of rebels during a military operation in Mindoro in December 2025. Pasion was believed to be among those who wrote entries in a notebook recovered by the military at the scene of the encounter. The notebook reportedly contained notes on the rebel group’s activities and internal discussions. Aquino said Pasion remained with the group following encounters in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro in March. Pasion was turned over to the Bureau of Immigration for proper disposition.