From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 19): Panay Army to secure politicians vs. rebel extortion
The Philippine Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade assured incumbent and would-be politicians that they will be protected against extortion by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
Col. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the 301st IB, made the assurance less than a month before the filing of certificate of candidacy on October 11-17.
“Our preparation for the elections is to attack the NPAs. They cannot ask for extortion money from our politicians,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
Soldiers in Panay continue with their patrol operations, particularly in areas where there are threats of extortion and sighting of rebels.
Arevalo said the pieces of evidence from the seven NPA leaders and members killed in a clash with government troops in San Jose, Antique last month, showed extortion activities of rebels.
Among those recovered from the encounters, he said, were four laptops, more than 20 cellphones and hard drives and four external hard drives.
“We got a lot of information there. We have names of companies and individuals who are giving (money),” he said.
“There are candidates but I do not want to name names,” he added.
Aside from politicians, Arevalo also said they would protect private contractors of various projects on Panay Island and businessmen.
He urged those who are subjects of extortion to immediately report to them through 09281757208 and 09167663740.
“We will act on it. To all those contractors and businessmen, we will help you,” he said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1048517
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