Sagarbarria orders probe on NPA extortion attempt

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — At least 10 businessmen in this city and Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria himself had received test messages from an unidentified source soliciting money purportedly for the hospitalization of an NPA rebel who was undergoing treatment in one of the hospitals in the country.

The text messages said one of their comrades, who had been in the underground movement for over 30 years is now in the hospital and they needed money for their expenses.  The anonymous sender hinted: “It’s up for the recipient of the text messages to honor their request or not.”

This prompted Sagarbarria to order the chief of the City Police to investigate, verify and validate the message, which he said may have also came from criminal groups taking advantage of the 45th anniversary celebration of the NPA yesterday. 

Brigadier Gen. Romeo Labador, deputy commander of the Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who represented CentCom head, Major Gen. John Bonafos during the 3rd Visayas Join Peace and Security Coordinating Council (JPSCC) meeting at the City Hall, however said he was inclined to believe that the text messages was the work of the NPA.

Labador said the military intelligence community has already taken cognizance of the mayor’s report, adding that the NPA may have plans of reprisals against the arrest of the two top cadres of the NPA, Benito Tiamzon, CPP chairman and his wife Wilma, who were arrested in Cebu recently for murder and frustrated murder.

The JPSCC meeting, held in Dumaguete and attended also by Chief Supt. Catalino Rodriguez Jr. of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Visayas, further discussed updates on cases filed against NPA rebels due to reports of low conviction rate, compliance on the establishment of JPSCCs at the city and municipal levels, joint regional AFP-PNP security plan for vital government installations and private projects in Regions 6, 7 and 8.

Also tackled were the possible conduct of the 2015 Association of Petroleum Exporting Countries (APEC) Summit in Cebu City, Bacolod, Boracay and Iloilo by the PNP, and the redeployment of the maneuver forces of the Regional Public Safety Batallion (RPSB) coming from the three Visayas regions.

The Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office, headed by Sr. Supt Mariano Natuel Jr, and Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office, headed by Sr. Supt Milko Lirazan also presented their respective integrated area/ community public safety plan, while Supt. James Goforth, Dumaguete City Police chief, presented the city’s situation and internal security updates.

In his initial assessment, Labador said Central Visayas is now considered as the most peaceful and orderly in the entire country, and that the insurgency campaign is gaining headway with the arrest of the Tiamzons, causing a major setback to the NPA movement. He confirmed that Negros Oriental is now set to be declared insurgency-free province in the next few months.

In Negros Oriental, a rebel returnee disclosed that there were only about 21 armed fighters of the NPA that are now criss-crossing the boundaries of Negros Occidental.  (FREEMAN)