NPAs raid Agusan mining firm, seize 4 men

Manila, Philippines -  Army troopers were locked in a standoff with some 200 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who raided and ransacked a mining firm in Rosario, Agusan del Sur early yesterday morning, the military said.

Men of the Army’s 75th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Danilo Buenavidez were prevented from swooping down on the guerrillas as they were holding four executives of VTO Mining Enterprise hostage. A local crisis management committee was formed to address the crisis.

But by around 3:15 p.m. yesterday, the rebels, after hours of holing up in the compound of VPO Mining in Barangay Baguyan 3, Rosario town, were able to slip through the police-military security cordon.

Senior Inspector Elizer Pido, Rosario police chief, identified three of the hostages as Christopher Ocite, son of Vicencio Orite, owner of VTO Mining; Gani Altaya, assistant operations manager; and Joel Jayuma, chief security operations officer. The fourth hostage, still unnamed, is a mining engineer.

Citing reports from the 401st Infantry Brigade, Maj. Julio Eugene Osias IV, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said the rebels were demanding a K3 machinegun and M-16 rifles in exchange for their hostages’ release.

The insurgents raided the VTO Mining compound at around 5 a.m. yesterday, and after disarming the security personnel, ransacked the establishment.

To prevent the military and police from launching an attack, the rebels took the four hostages and set up defense around the compound.

“A crisis management committee has been formed to resolve the crisis with our troops on standby in the area,” Osias said.

Osias said Army troops were lending a hand to law enforcers in pursuing the rebels but ensuring the safety and security of the four hostages.

Reports said the guerrillas were led by Renato Sayasat, alias Commander Friday, of the NPA’s Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee 14.