Suspected leftists burn bulldozer in Southern Palawan town

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 28): Suspected leftists burn bulldozer in Southern Palawan town

Despite several surrenders by members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the past months, sporadic strikes remain in remote areas in Palawan, according to the Palawan Provincial Police Office (PPO).

In an interview Monday, PPO Chief Superintendent David Martinez confirmed that four armed members of the CPP-NPA claimed responsibility in the torching Sunday afternoon of a bulldozer owned by a certain Richard Ibanez.

According to Martinez, the incident happened around 5:00 p.m. in Barangay Pulot Dos in the municipality of Sofronio Española in southern Palawan. Ibanez is a contractor for a road project in the area.

“Yes, there was a report made that there was one bulldozer that was torched in a sitio in Barangay Pulot Dos. The bulldozer is owned by a private individual, a contractor, who is doing a road project in the palm oil plantation in southern Palawan,” said Martinez.

The provincial police chief said the four armed suspects claimed responsibility for the torching incident that happened near a palm oil plantation, and that they are members of the leftist movement.

“According to the report that was received by my office, the men introduced themselves as members of the CPP-NPA,” he said.

Reportedly, they belong to a unit of the rebel group that is operating in southern Palawan and is being headed by alias “Ka Harry.”

The bulldozer was torched after the owner of the palm oil, whom Martinez did not name, refused to pay “revolutionary tax.”

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=666860