NPA rebels torch 3 heavy equipment in Sarangani village

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 14): NPA rebels torch 3 heavy equipment in Sarangani village

Suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels burned early Tuesday three heavy equipment owned by a private construction firm that was working on a local government-funded project in Malapatan town in Sarangani Province.

Police Officer 1 Omar Pangolima, investigator of Malapatan municipal police station, said Tuesday an undetermined number of rebels attacked a project site of Jargon Construction and Supply in Purok Datal Bub in Barangay Lun Padidu shortly after midnight and torched its three heavy equipment.

He said the rebels did not harm the workers and immediately left the area after burning a payloader, road grader and roller.

“The three heavy equipment were already totally burned when we responded to the area since it was only reported to us about four hours later,” he said in a radio interview.

Pangolima said that during the attack, the firm’s workers were reportedly told by the rebels that their owners were aware that it would happen.

The rebels had been reportedly demanding the payment of revolutionary taxes from Jargon Construction and Supply, which is based in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat, but it repeatedly ignored them.

Jargon Construction had been contracted by the local government to implement a road project in Barangay Lun Padidu in Malapatan.

The firm, which is one of the accredited construction firms of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region 12, has several ongoing projects in parts of Sarangani, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=604962