Suspected NPA members torch mining equipment

MANILA, Philippines - Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) on Sunday torched an equipment owned by a mining firm in Sofronio Española, Palawan, the military said. 

Lt. Anne Abrigo, acting public affairs officer of the Armed Forces Western Command, said the backhoe of the Citinickel mining firm was burned by six armed men at about 1 p.m.

Employees of the mining company were on their way home on board a truck when the armed men held them at gunpoint in Sitio Malalag in Barangay Punang.

The suspected rebels then burned a backhoe parked about 250 meters away from the area where the employees were held.

Abrigo said based on initial investigation, one of the possible motives behind the incident is extortion.

“They (employees) think it may have been driven by retribution because they refused to pay revolutionary tax,” she said.

Abrigo said another possible angle being looked at is the conflict between Citinickel and some anti-mining activists.

“Perhaps there are anti-mining activists who are angry with the mining company,” she said.

The military has advised mining firms in nearby areas to heighten their security to prevent similar incidents.

The military earlier claimed that the communist rebels had extorted about P300 million from businesses in 2011. Officials said among the usual targets of extortion activities are mining and logging firms and plantations.