Cost of properties destroyed by NPA in E. Mindanao hits P300M

MANILA, Philippines - The amount of properties damaged by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Eastern Mindanao has risen tenfold despite the military’s repeated claims that the rebel movement has weakened.

Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Aurelio Baladad said the amount of equipment torched by the rebels ballooned to P300 million in the first nine months, way above the P30 million recorded for the entire 2013.

“It (amount of burned equipment) is higher than last year’s, around a tenth of that. It was around P30 million plus so the increase is about tenfold,” Baladad said in an interview on Tuesday.

“They (NPA) are embarking on an extortion campaign. The peace talks are stalled so they have to maintain their forces,” he added.

The Eastern Mindanao Command secures the Caraga, Davao and Northern Mindanao provinces and parts of the SOCCSKSARGEN region.

Security officials previously claimed that communist insurgents are hitting on soft targets like civilians and businesses to make their presence felt in communities and to collect the so-called “revolutionary taxes.”

Citing rough estimates, Baladad said the rebels in Eastern Mindanao also managed to extort around P30 million from businesses.

“For me, it is disturbing because we want to attract investors here so we must have peace and order. Businessmen are after stability so we are aligning our forces so that we can prevent their (NPA) acts,” he said.

Baladad said they are setting up a system to ensure the safety of investors in the area.

“We will try to set up a system wherein we can have this communication so that we will know where we should focus,” the military official said.

“I would like to emphasize these are non combatants and these are non-military objectives. They should not be targeted,” he added.

Baladad noted that targeting civilians is a violation of the International humanitarian Law.  

There are about 2,100 NPA members in Eastern Mindanao based on latest military estimates. The strength of the communist movement in the Philippines has been pegged at around 4,000, virtually unchanged over the last four years.