North Cotabato exec confirms NPA extortion activities

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 1): North Cotabato exec confirms NPA extortion activities

A town mayor in North Cotabato has confirmed that the communist New People's Army is mulcting the local government unit for it to allow the construction of a road project in an NPA infested village.

Mayor Jaime Mahimpit of Pres. Rojas, North Cotabato, said his refusal to grant the "request" led to the land mine attack on his convoy on Thursday afternoon.

The local government unit, through a private construction firm, is concreting a three-kilometer stretch of the road in Barangay Datu Inda.

But an emissary of the NPA Front 53 operating in the tri-borders of North Cotabato, Bukidnon and Davao warned the project will be harassed once the LGU and the contractor denied their P1 million demand.

"This is clearly a violation, a human rights violation," Colonel Nilo Vinluan, 57th Infantry Battalion chief, said after Mahimpit narrowly survived an ambush but three of his police escorts were hurt.

"The rebels are extorting money from the contractor and when the demand was denied, they set off land mines," Vinluan said, adding that once the project is completed, the people in the village, including relatives of NPAs, would benefit from it.

Despite the bombing and the extortion activities of NPAs, Mahimpit said the project will continue as programmed.

"I talked to the village officials, they want the project completed," Mahimpit said, adding that the Army's 57th IB vowed to provide security.

Vinluan said the Army received reports a week earlier about the presence of NPAs in Barangay Datu Inda and conducting search-in and recruitment activities.

This prompted the military assigned in President Rojas to conduct patrol operation when they were strafed. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

On Thursday, Mahimpit went to the village to talk to an NPA emissary to explain that it has no funds for "protection money" and to tell the rebels they too can benefit from the road project.

It was then that his convoy was strafed and a land mine was set off when they noticed Mahimpit had Army escorts.

"What kind of ideology the NPA is pursuing, they claim to be fighting for the people but they are anti-people and anti-development," Mahimpit said, challenging militant groups to issue condemnation against the NPA for the attacks.

"When the Army conduct legitimate military operation, these militant groups cry human rights violation, when the NPA do, they keep quite, who are they protecting?" Vinluan asked.

Militant Bayan Muna, Karapatan and Panaghiusang Mag-uuma sa North Cotabato have remained silent since the incident.

Mahimpit vowed to push for the road project and more similar projects in President Rojas because it will benefit more the people in general.

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