ANG BAYAN
AUGUST 07, 2020
The New People’s Army (NPA) mounted successive military actions to halt plunderous mining operations in Western Samar and South Cotabato from June to July.
Western Samar. An NPA unit targeted troopers of the 8th ID who were conducting security operations in the province to pave way for the opening of the Samar Bauxite Project of the Marcventures Holdings, Inc. The said mining operations is set to cover up to 12,231 hectares of land which has rich bauxite deposits. Marcventures is owned by the Davao-based Alcantara family.
On July 1, a soldier was killed in an NPA sniping operation in Barangay Beri Motiong. Out of fear, the military unit along with other troopers who encamped in adjacent barrios retreated after the harassment.
On July 7, two soldiers were killed in another NPA sniping operation in Barangay San Nicolas, San Jose de Buan. In retaliation, the military perpetrated rights abuses against residents in a nearby peasant community after a week. (Read related article in page 7.)
South Cotabato. On June 15, the NPA paralyzed the construction equipment of the Gemma Construction Company, a local contractor of the regime’s key infrastructure projects in the Far South Mindanao Region. The incident took place in Purok Pag-asa, Barangay Veterans, Surallah. Approximate P23-million worth of equipment were destroyed, including a backhoe, payloader and dump truck.
The company is constructing various roads which directly serve the operation of the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, a mining project which is responsible for the eviction of Lumad minorities and destroying their ancestral lands. The roads are also being used by agribusiness companies which are expanding their operations in the area.
The said company is owned by businesswoman Lora Uy. The Uy family also owns hundreds of hectares of banana plantations in T’boli, South Cotabato which are notorious for evicting minorities from their ancestral lands.
In related news, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Sec. Roy Cimatu announced on July 22 that he has already allowed the companies that were closed down and suspended by his predecessor, Gina Lopez, to resume their mining operations. Lopez ordered the closure of 26 mining companies in 2016 for violating environmental standards.
Meanwhile, three soldiers were killed in a series of encounter in Barangay Baluan, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat on July 26. A Red fighter was martyred during the incident.
An element of the 72nd DRC was also killed, while three others were wounded, in an NPA demolition operation in Barangay Dili, Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur, on July 31.
[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]
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