From the Philippine Information Agency (Jan 16): Militant groups used typhoon victims in Montevista blockade -Guv
Provincial Gov. Arturo Uy this morning alleged typhoon victims were just being used to stage a protest rally yesterday in Montevista town which fully blockaded an intersection of the national highway going to Butuan City and to towns of Compostela and New Bataan.
In a phone interview, he bared reports of municipal mayors of typhoon Pablo-affected towns telling him that buses were rounding up morning of January 15 in barangays, and that someone was convincing people to come along because boxer-politician would be distributing relief assistance. “It was a disguise as it was a well-planned and well-fueled activity,” he said.
He failed to reveal the towns where the rounding up was made but he identified Tagum City-based Metro Shuttle Bus Company as among the owners of the buses used to transport protest rally participants allegedly by militant groups. He revealed being told by the Metro Bus Shuttle owner that the ones hiring the buses declared the units be used for a tree planting activity. “Ten buses from the Metro Shuttle were supposed to be hired but only three were released,” he said.
Montevista Information Officer Edwin Antia reported yesterday noon that around 2,000 people led by militant groups staged a protest rally blocking the flow of traffic to and from Butuan City, and to and from towns of Compostela and New Bataan. Aside from raising national issues such as land reform and criticizing the national government, the group aired dissatisfaction over distribution of relief assistance, alleging that some failed to receive their fair share, and that far-flung barangays had not been reached.
The rally was organized in time with the foreign donors visit to severely-hit town New Bataan led by Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman. Among the foreign donor’s in convoy to visit New Bataan, Compostela Valley were representatives of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), United Nations for the Coordination of Humanitarian Agencies (UN OCHA), World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); the governments of New Zealand, Australia and Spain.
Social Welfare regional information officer Carmela C. Duron revealed the donors’ convoy took an alternate route going to New Bataan, skirting the militant rally but Soliman together with Uy faced the group. Antia said the protesters demanded that 10,000 sacks of rice be given them for distribution to typhoon victims but Uy told them the provincial government had none of such volume of rice while Soliman explained to them how the government ensured equal relief distribution.
The group pushed its rally until about 10:00 in the evening yesterday (Jan. 15) and eventually dispersed when the provincial government sent them 1,877 family food packs with 10 kilos of rice and another 300 sacks of rice supply from WFP and DSWD. Early this morning, Antia said the Montevista intersection of the national highway had been cleared except for littered garbage and tarpaulin streamers left by those who joined the rally.
http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=1591358322986
The commies are good a what they do--anti-government propaganda. This protest activity was timed to coincide with the arrival of the foreign donors convoy in the area. It would appear that the foreign donors were the intended audience for the protest action instigated by CPP front organizations. The idea was to discredit the relief efforts of the Aquino administration. The commies could care less if such actions might result in a reduction of foreign aid to typhoon victims just so long as they were able to score their propaganda points. Less aid might mean more hardship for ordinary Filipinos but that did not seem to be a major concern of protest organizers.
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