POLICE awarded P1 million Friday to a female informant who provided vital information that led to the arrest of one of the top 25 communist leaders in the country.

Police Regional Director Pedro Tango led the awarding at the police regional headquarters in Catitipan, Buhangin Friday morning.

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The reward is for the arrest of Marcelino Apal alias Kumander Dandy of Front Committee 51.

But reports reaching Sun.Star Davao showed Apal was not arrested but surrendered to the police in the first quarter of 2009, specifically to the intelligence division of the Southern Mindanao Police Regional Office (PRO).

Apal reportedly surrendered on February 26 in Barangay Sibulan, Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur to Senior Superintendent Francisco Villaroman, who headed the intelligence division of PRO in Southern Mindanao.

It was learned that Apal was jailed at the Digos City jail after his surrender because of existing warrants of arrest.

A similar report was posted in a news website on March 1, 2009, which described Apal as a communist leader in the southern Philippines who carries a P1-million reward. The report said it got the information from Camp Crame.

The Camp Crame report said Apal's surrender last February 26 “was not immediately divulged to the public as he was subjected to a custodial debriefing.”

"Apal, an officer of the New People's Army (NPA), surrendered to the Police Regional Office in Southern Mindanao after a month of negotiations by two Regional Intelligence Division Action agents," the news report said.

Apal was further described as the instructor of the propaganda unit of the Southern Mindanao Regional Command (SMRC) and team leader of a large combat unit of the Front Committee 51 of the SMRC.

In a text message, Tango however said the report from Villaroman stated Apal was arrested.

Reports of falsified claims of wanted criminals getting arrested so the huge amount of bounty could be claimed have circulated in the past.