19 unidentified armed men set fire to heavy equipment in Southern Palawan

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 8): 19 unidentified armed men set fire to heavy equipment in Southern Palawan

Three heavy equipment units allegedly belonging to a palm oil company were torched early Wednesday morning by an estimated 19 unidentified fully-armed men in Bataraza town at the southernmost tip of mainland Palawan.

Initial reports reaching the Western Command (WESCOM) claimed the incident took place around 1 a.m. at Sitio Linao, Barangay Culandanum, Bataraza.

Burned were a bulldozer, a backhoe, and a dump truck – all reportedly belonging to San Andres Palm Oil Co. (SAPOC).

As of this writing, Capt. Cherryl Tindog, spokesperson of the WESCOM, said no one has claimed responsibility over the incident, and investigation, as well as a follow up operation, are still being conducted in the Culandanum area.

The Bataraza Municipal Police Station (MPS), on the other hand, said it is likely that the perpetrators are members of the New People’s Army (NPA) communist-terrorist group operating in the southern part of Palawan.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=969959