The recent bombing of a sugar mill transloading station in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, by the New People’s Army was not just to punish its management for failure to comply with the rebel extortion demands, but also to divert government forces, Col. Jon Aying, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said yesterday.
The NPA has raided and destroyed twice the transloading stations of Lopez Sugar Corp. in Brgy. San Jose, Toboso and Brgy, Mabini, Escalante, within four years, military records show.
They used Improvised Explosive Devices in bombing the sugar mill transloading station on Sunday in Escalante City, police investigations also showed.
Aying spelled out three possible motives, for the bombing of the transloading station: extortion; a diversionary tactic of the NPA to lessen the pressure on them by military; and to ambush police and military personnel, who may respond to their atrocities.
Damaged by the explosions were the core sampler laboratory, a crane, platform weighing scale, gas pumping station and a Fuzo hauler truck.
However, the extent of damage was still being assessed by the sugar mill management, as of yesterday, Senior Supt. Milko Lirazan, provincial police director of Negros Occidental, said.
Aying said a coordinated manhunt operation is now being conducted by the 62nd Infantry Battalion, with the participation of the 6th Special Action Battalion, 6th Regional Public Safety Battalion and members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit stationed in the area.
Escalante police chief, Supt. Leo Batiles, said they will collate the testimonies of witnesses, and coordinate with the Philippine Army in identifying the rebel suspects and filing of charges against them.
More than 20 Bayanihan teams of the Philippine Army have been deployed in the so-called guerilla zones of the NPA in the hinterlands of Escalante, Toboso and Calatrava (ESTOCA).
Aying said that with the occupation of NPA guerilla zones by government forces, the rebel group has moved out to other areas of northern Negros after experiencing military debacles.
The ESTOCA area has been the focus of development by the provincial government of Negros Occidental, through its Provincial Peace,Integration and Development Unit, since last year.
The South West Negros Guerilla Front, however, described in its statement, the Negros First Pro-PIDU program of Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr. and Aying as a form of “psy-war operations” of the military.
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