NPAs burn dump truck

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga – Some 50-heavily-armed men believed to be members of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) torched a dump truck inside a Korean-owned crusher plant in Barangay Pabanlag, Floridablanca town early morning Wednesday, police said yesterday.

The rebels stormed the crusher plant and disarmed the security guard before setting the dump truck on fire.

Chief Supt. Roberto Calinisan, Central Luzon police director, said the suspects raided the Jackal Aggregates in Sitio Cural at around 6 a.m. and set fire to a Hyundai dump truck worth P2 million parked inside the plant.

Calinisan ordered the Pampanga police to conduct pursuit operations against the fleeing rebels.

Reports reaching here said that the rebels torched the dump truck after the firm officials failed to give the revolutionary tax earlier demanded by the rebels.

Police investigators said the rebels were asking P300,000 as monthly revolutionary tax from the officials of the crushing plant.

The rebels fled on board a commandeered passenger jeepney heading towards a north western direction, carting away the service firearm of the security guard.

Police said Floridablanca town is one of the strongholds of the communist rebels in Pampanga.

Meanwhile, Francisco Villaroman, regional officer of the 3rd Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (3CIDG), lambasted the CPP-NPA Josefino Corpuz Command for feeding newsmen "wrong information" through press releases.

Villaroman described the press releases as mere "white paper" aimed to destroy his credibility.

He said that the local communist movement has an ax to grind against him stating his anti-insurgency campaign during his stint as commanding officer of the defunct PC/INP 174th company operating in the towns of Sta. Ana, Mexico, Candaba, San Simon, Arayat and San Luis.

Villaroman said the local communist considered his comeback as a big threat to the underground movement. Villaroman was instrumental in the surrender of almost all NPA leaders in southeastern Pampanga areas during his term as commanding officer of the 174th company. –Ric Sapnu