BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Police have confirmed earlier reports that three candidates in the Caraga region, including two re-electionist mayors, are seeking protection after receiving notices from the New People’s Army (NPA) to pay permit-to-campaign fees.
“They called us and sought guidance on what to do after they received notes requiring them to pay huge sums,” said Senior Superintendent Nestor Monton Fajura, Caraga (Region 13) police director.
Fajura said the three candidates decided to disclose the NPA notices to authorities lest they be suspected of providing financial help to the insurgents.
Fajura said they advised the candidates to write letters requesting security to the Regional Joint Election Security Task Force led by the regional office of the Commission on Elections.
“Then jointly we will assess the veracity and validity of the request,” he said.
This developed as NPA rebels seemed to be in an attack mode in the Caraga region last week, torching heavy equipment of a construction company and a logging firm and destroying a hectare of banana plants of Dole Philippines, all in Surigao del Sur.
The guerrillas burned a backhoe of Tagum City-based Ventric Construction in Tago town last Thursday, and hours later, four heavy equipment of Surigao Development Corp. in Lanuza town.
Besides torching the backhoe, the rebels destroyed banana plants on one hectare of the banana plantation which Ventric is developing for Dole Philippines in Tago town.
In another development, police are monitoring three private armies, which influential Caraga politicians used to maintain in the 2004 and 2007 elections.
“Obviously, they are armed and dangerous. As to the question on whether they will be used again by these politicians, we are closely monitoring. We are watching their movements, where they are and where they hide their firearms and ammunition,” Fajura said.
For more than a year now, he said these private armed groups have remained silent, with some members and even their leaders joining criminal gangs involved in robberies, kidnappings, extortion, and gun-for-hire activities.
“We are working hard to finally disband them,” he said.