NPAs admit burning 3 trucks of contractor in Sarangani

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines - – The Alex Ababa Command (AAB) of the New People’s Army (NPA) has owned up to the burning of three dump trucks of a private construction firm in Malapatan town in Sarangani province.

The AAB, a newly formed NPA command, operates in the provinces of Sarangani and Davao del Sur.

The NPA attack has caused worries among other private contractors building government-funded projects like farm-to-market roads in Sarangani.

In a statement, Edilberto Mahusay, who introduced himself as ABB spokesman, said they burned the dump trucks of Jargon Construction Co., reportedly owned by a certain Jan-Jan Mercado, as a “punishment.”

Police said the NPA rebels swooped down on the firm’s compound in Barangay Daan Suyan in Malapatan town past midnight last Jan. 14, poured gasoline on the dump trucks, and then set them on fire.

The dump trucks were reportedly worth P10 million.

Mahusay said they launched the attack because the company had ignored their demand for “revolutionary tax.”

But Mercado, in an interview with Bombo Radyo here, said his company had not received any letters from the NPA.

Mahusay said the company had to pay “revolutionary tax” since it has gained millions of pesos from the projects it constructed in supposed NPA strongholds.