NPA rebels torch Dolefil equipment in Bukidnon

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 3): NPA rebels torch Dolefil equipment in Bukidnon

A piece of machinery owned by a multinational company was torched by an armed group suspected to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in a village in Bukidnon early Friday morning, the military said.

The group set on fire a portable banana processor owned by Dole Philippines, Inc. at Sitio Sta. Cruz, Barangay Casisang, Malaybalay City, the Philippine Army’s 403rd Infantry Brigade said in a statement.

Extortion could be the motive in burning the equipment, estimated to cost about P700,000, the military said.

Communist rebels have been accused of carrying out extortion activities and numerous raids and torching of private properties of agri-business firms operating in the province of Bukidnon.

Meanwhile, the NPA has slammed the administration of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte for creating a new Army battalion that is currently being deployed in Southern Bukidnon.

In a recent statement, the Army said it has organized the 88th Infantry Battalion stationed in Barangay South Poblacion, Maramag town, Bukidnon, under the 4th Infantry Division.

Composed of 450 soldiers, the new battalion was created last month to augment the government forces as it continues to fight the insurgency in the region.

But the Communist rebels said the augmentation of government troops observed that “militarization had already intensified against the people and the revolutionary forces of the said area.”

According to Ka Malem Mabini, spokesperson for the NPA-Northcentral Mindanao Region, the presence of the 88IB is to “defend the interest of the companies who were drooling to plunder the lands.”

“In a time or two, we could anticipate the aggravating militarization, violation of people’s rights of the peasants and of the right to self-determination of the Lumad [tribal people],” Mabini said in a separate statement released to the media on Nov. 2.

Aside from the mono-crop plantations being cultivated and managed by the huge corporations, the NPA said the tribal lands are also in danger due to infrastructure projects which will be built in Bukidnon.

6Among these projects is the construction of the Pulangui Dam-V and the Maramag-Don Carlos airport that will invite more foreign investments to the province.

The planned dam, the NPA said, will affect more than 800,000 people from the lumad and Moro communities in Bukidnon, Maguindanao, and Cotabato living in about 22 villages, especially those living within the Liguasan Marsh.

TIf these projects are to push through, Mabini said resistance from the NPA and other groups is expected in the future.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php/articles/1014782