NPA raids rock crushing plant

Heavily armed communist rebels torched eight units of heavy equipment and carted away firearms and handheld radios during a daring raid last Saturday on a rock crushing plant in E. Rodriguez, Rizal, authorities said.

The New People’s Army (NPA) raid sent police officials in Metro Manila scampering to conference rooms and mapping out contingency measures to prevent future attacks, which may bring added embarrassment to the Estrada administration.

E. Rodriguez town, formerly Montalban, is on the boundary of Metro Manila.

The raid on the Blue Rock Crushing Plant in Sitio Lukutang Malaki, Barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez town, went unnoticed by the Rizal police command.

This, despite their having been placed on a high state of alert two weeks ago amid intelligence reports that communist rebels would launch attacks on government targets and installations.

Reports said some 30 heavily armed rebels swooped down on the rock crushing plant at about 3:30 p.m. last Saturday, and divested the two security guards of their shotguns and handheld radios.

The raiders, headed by one Cesar Betrallo of the NPA’s Narciso Antazo Aramil Command, then poured gasoline on eight units of heavy equipment inside the plant’s compound, and torched them. Also destroyed was the plant’s main power supply.