Bayan Muna’s Tarlac office set on fire

TARLAC CITY — At least 10 ski mask-wearing men torched the provincial office of the militant party-list group Bayan Muna here last Tuesday morning.

Witnesses said the armed men, clad in military uniforms, pointed their guns at them and ordered them to lie on the ground before setting the Bayan Muna office in Sitio Buno, Barangay Matatalaib on fire. The blaze lasted for 30 minutes.

Romeo Basangan, one of the witnesses, said he saw one of the attackers destroy the streetlight near the Bayan Muna office before pouring gasoline in the compound.

"May nakaparadang van malapit lang sa opisina ng Bayan Muna at meron pang siyang ibang mga kasamahan na may dalang Armalite at molotov (There was a van parked near the Bayan Muna office and the man had companions who were carrying Armalites and molotov bombs)," Basangan said.

The attack happened while human rights activists and members of progressive groups led by Bayan Muna were staging a rally in front of Camp Aquino, headquarters of the Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), in Barangay San Miguel to condemn the spate of killings of human rights activists in Central Luzon.

Paul Viuya, Bayan Muna secretary-general for Tarlac, said, "Only the military is to be blamed for this."

Viuya also blamed the military for the death of Florante Collantes, a Bayan Muna official, last Saturday.

Gen. Jovito Palparan, commanding general of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division which has jurisdiction over Tarlac, told The STAR in a phone interview that he and his men had nothing to do with the burning of the Bayan Muna office and the killings of human rights activists.

"Bayan Muna has declared me and the rest of the military as their enemies. But it is a fact that they have created a number of enemies in different sectors of society," he said.

Palparan said Bayan Muna’s links with the communist movement, particularly the New People’s Army, is not a secret, adding that the NPA is more likely to hurt people and destroy properties.

"They are only waiting for the opportunity in that area," he said, referring to the eastern portion of Tarlac where tactical offensives may likely be launched by the communist movement.

Last Oct. 2, communist guerrillas attacked a tower of Globe Telecom in Barangay Matatalaib here.

These attacks, according to Nolcom officials, are part of the NPA’s offensive against vital installations in Northern Luzon. 

Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo personally went here to inspect the damage caused by the fire on the Bayan Muna provincial office. The damage was estimated at P100,000. — With Ding Cervantes