P6-M worth of heavy equipments burned in Surigao del Sur

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 10): P6-M worth of heavy equipments burned in Surigao del Sur

Some 30 heavily armed persons believed to be members of the New People's Army (NPA) burned heavy equipments worth P6 million in a town of Surigao del Sur Monday morning.

Reports from Surigao del Sur Police Provincial Office said that a dump truck and a pay loader used in the construction of Tago River Bridge in San Miguel, Surigao del Sur were burned by fully armed persons around 10:45 a.m. Monday. The equipments were used to quarry sand and gravel along Tago River at the vicinity of Sitio Sta. Cruz, Brgy. Sagbayan of San Miguel town for the bridge construction.

According to the police report, the raiders suddenly surfaced and ordered the driver of the dump truck and the pay loader operator to disembark from their manned heavy equipments.

The unnamed driver and operator of both equipments hastily fled the area when the rebels fired their guns indiscriminately, the police report said. The armed men then set both equipments on fire.

The report said the suspects hastily fled the area as the heavy equipment units were still burning when the responding lawmen arrived.

Arthur Ong-oh of CBBI Construction based in Cabadbaran City, who owned the dump truck, and Wulfranie Montenegro Pascua, a businessman from Tandag City, owner of the pay loader declared to the police investigators that their losses due to the incident amounted to P6 million.

Police investigators from San Miguel Police Station recovered a spent cartridge of an M14 rifle and 13 spent cartridges of AK 47 Rifle at the crime scene.

The military and the police troopers are already in hot pursuit against the perpetrators.

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