The Philippine authorities arrested Thursday morning a suspected explosives expert of the New People's Army (NPA) in the northern province of Quezon

The Philippine authorities arrested Thursday morning a suspected explosives expert of the New People's Army (NPA) in the northern province of Quezon, police said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the suspect, identified as Ryan Sison, alias Ryan Jula, Julane Sison or Jule, was nabbed in Dalahican village, Lucena City.

"When arrested, alleged improvised explosive device components were among those found in his possession and subsequently seized by the arresting policemen," said Cruz.

He said military and police intelligence experts have already been advised of the development.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group investigators are now preparing the filing of additional charges against the suspect before the Department of Justice, Cruz added.

The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for more than four decades. The Philippine military estimates that there are some 4,700 NPA guerrilla fighters scattered in more than 60 provinces throughout the Southeast Asian country.

In February, the Philippine government and the leftist rebels resumed formal peace talks which had been suspended for six years in Oslo, Norway, in a bid to bring an end to the protracted insurgency.

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