Pentagon beefs up extort

COTABATO CITY — Extortion rings of the notorious Pentagon kidnapping syndicate have intensified their activities since last week, sending demand letters to both wealthy and small-scale traders in Central Mindanao and threatening to harm them if they refuse to shell out protection money.

One of those who got an extortion letter from the Pentagon’s so-called "Suicide Bombers’ Team" was Moya Yu Ekey, a popular Chinese businessman here who is known for his active involvement in humanitarian projects for Muslim and Christian communities in the region.

The extortion gang threatened to bomb Moya’s commercial establishments in the city if he would not shell out P10,000 monthly protection money.

Businessmen in three neighboring North Cotabato towns have also confirmed having received such extortion letters from the same group, tagged as responsible for recent blasts inside a Wenna bus and in front of the main WG&A office in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

In Sultan Kudarat province, a rice mill operator also complained of receiving threats from the so-called Dragon Group, another extortion ring identified with the Pentagon.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said soldiers can only be efficient in helping curb the activities of these extortion syndicates if businessmen are willing to assist in setting up entrapments.

"Giving these extortionists money will only embolden them to victimize more businessmen," Ando said.

Sources in the Army intelligence community said the Pentagon mounted its extortion activities after the military neutralized more than a dozen of its members in recent clashes in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao, in Banga, South Cotabato, and in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat.

"Maybe the group needs money for the medication of its wounded members and to defray the cost of ammunition it spent in skirmishes and the firearms that soldiers recovered from them during the firefights," a senior Army intelligence officer told The STAR.

Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan, who chairs the Provincial Peace and Order Council, said he is ready to offer a reward for information that would lead to the arrest of these extortionists.