Security guard missing after attack on banana firm in South Cotabato town

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 26): Security guard missing after attack on banana firm in South Cotabato town

A security guard has remained missing following an attack by unidentified suspects on a field base of a banana plantation company operating in Polomolok town in South Cotabato early Wednesday.

Ruel Molina, supervisor of Lapanday Foods Corp. in Polomolok, said Thursday an undetermined number of suspects stormed their offices and facilities in Barangay Koronadal Proper at around 12:30 a.m. and later burned them.

He said their duty security guard identified as Zainudin Nilong went missing after the incident and was believed taken by the suspects.

“His motorcycle was also missing and there were bloodstains found on a table and chair at the guardhouse. But we’re not sure yet if they were from (Nilong),” he said in a radio interview.

Molina said the fire, which was controlled by responding fire trucks from the Bureau of Fire Protection station in Polomolok at around 5 a.m., gutted down their office building, warehouse and portions of their banana packing plant.

He said among those destroyed were the company’s generator sets as well as office and plant equipment that were initially valued at around PHP1.5 million.

Molina said they could not yet determine the exact motive of the incident but it appeared that the suspects initially ransacked their warehouse before setting it on fire.

He said a team from the Polomolok municipal police station is already looking into the incident.

Police are also scouring parts of Barangay Palkan and other the neighboring areas where the suspects could have brought the missing security guard, he said.

But as a result of the incident, Molina said company officials immediately decided to totally close down its operations in Polomolok town, specifically in Barangay Koronadal Proper.

The company established a 44.6-hectare banana plantation in the area three years ago and later opened a packing plant that employed around 100 people on a contractual basis.

He said they already informed the affected workers of the company’s decision and has started vacating their premises.

“We’re currently chopping down the standing bananas as part of the shutdown,” he said.

Molina added that all regular personnel assigned in the area have been so far recalled to the company’s main provincial base in Tampakan town.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=748090