Army: ‘Don’t give in to NPA’s extortion demand’

From Panay News (Nov 14, 2020): Army: ‘Don’t give in to NPA’s extortion demand’ (By Ruby Silubrico)

ILOILO City – The Armed Forces of the Philippines warned businessmen and contractors of infrastructure projects across Western Visayas not to give in to the communist rebels’ extortion demands.

“Never support the NPA (New People’s Army). Supporting acts of terrorism is a crime by itself,” said Army Major Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) spokesperson.

According to Pancito, they consistently received information that NPA rebels were demanding money from contractors.

Last week, Galino Construction, a firm working on farm-to-market road projects in Barangay Buyuan, Tigbauan, Iloilo, received extortion letters from the NPA. The company had since stopped work on the road project.

Rebels resorting to extortion have long been a concern of the Army, Pancito lamented.

But this during this pandemic, Pancito said, NPAs are targeting businessmen and construction companies to survive famine in the mountains.

Pancito reiterated that giving in to the rebels’ demands is tolerating their illegal activity.

“If we are not giving materials of any kind to the NPA, we are constricting their logistics. If we are not giving in to their extortion, then we are cutting their finances,” Pancito said.

He added that if each government agency and each Filipino rally behind the call to end the local and conflict, the country’s insurgency problem will be solved.

“We are asking the community and other concerned agencies to help us in fighting insurgency in our country so that we have a true peace in our place,” the Army official said.

http://www.panaynews.net/army-dont-give-in-to-npas-extortion-demand/