NPA rebels burn heavy equipment

DUMAGUETE CITY ,Philippines  — Alleged members of the NPA, operating in the northern part of Negros Oriental, burned heavy equipment at an ongoing government construction project along the national highway in the boundaries of Manjuyod and Bindoy towns, early morning last Friday.

Negros Oriental Provincial Police director Sr. Supt. Edward Carranza told reporters the heavy equipment–a back hoe, a crane, two dump trucks and abulldozer–were owned by the LL Construction, a contractor firm of Lawrence Limkaichong, husband of 1st district Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong.

Carranza said the heavy equipment were parked Thursday evening at the project site, specifically at the winding Himampangon Road, between Brgy. Malaga in Bindoy and Brgy. Bala-as in Manjuyod.

Initial police investigation showed that at least three suspected NPA rebels, aged 20 to 25, arrived at the project site at around 1 a.m. Friday and started pouring gasoline on heavy equipment.

Police said the three tried to set on fire a back hoe and a crane with the use of improvised incendiary materials but failed. They then went over to a bulldozer and at gunpoint told the watchman, Cain Cadallo Tobias, to get out.

Witnesses said the men then crossed the bridge over to where the dump trucks were parked, poured gasoline and set these on fire.

One of the dump trucks was half-burned while the other one did not incur any damage when responding firefighters from nearby Bais City arrived at the scene. 

Senior Insp. Wilfredo Villoria, chief of the Manjuyod Police Station, said some of the workers, sleeping in a bunkhouse, were roused during the attack, threw stones at the suspects who in turn fired warning shots at them, sending the workers scampering to safety.

The police recovered five empty shells of.45 caliber pistol and two spent shells of 9-mm from the Manjuyod crime scene and one spent shell of a 9-mm at the adjacent Bindoy crime scene.

Military and police officials here initially issued a statement saying that the assault could be a "show of force" by the NPA amid the forthcoming peace negotiations between the government and the CPP-NPA and the National Democratic Front.