Batangas , Philippines – Suspected New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas torched eight buses in a terminal in Lemery town here early yesterday morning, police said.
Senior Superintendent Omega Jireh Fidel, Batangas police director, said at least 15 heavily armed men wearing camouflage uniforms entered the terminal of Jam Liner in Barangay Palanas at 12:55 a.m. and disarmed its two security guards, Welijado Banastao, 32, and Marlon Pineda, 27, of the D-Black Pretorians Security Agency.
The armed men ordered all drivers and conductors sleeping in the buses to step out, and then doused the buses with gasoline and set them on fire.
PO2 Richard Caragay, Lemery police investigator, said one of the employees quoted the armed men as saying that they were NPA rebels who were after the bus firm’s management.
Caragay said the bus company received an extortion letter from the NPA sometime in October or November last year.
Witnesses said the armed men escaped onboard two vans and sped toward Calaca town, taking with them the security guards’ .38-caliber revolver and shotgun, a handheld radio, power supply for a desktop computer, and the cellular phone of one of the guards.
Police launched pursuit operations against the attackers. – With Ed Amoroso