NPA rebels torch Dole’s plantation

At least 80 communist rebels burned heavy equipment and storage rooms owned by Dole Philippines in Tago, Surigao del Sur, Maj. Gen. Victor Felix said on Tuesday.

The NPA rebels were aided by 50 civilian supporters, he said, as he denounced the ‘dastardly act’ of the communist terrorists.

Col. Romeo Gan, commander of the 401st Brigade, said the rebel attacked the banana plantation around 1:30 a.m. and set on fire three trucks and storage rooms.

Company workers said the NPA demanded “revolutionary tax,” Gan said. “The motive is extortion.”

The Surigao provinces and nearby areas had been targets of NPA’s economic sabotage owing to the abundance of lucrative businesses, he said.

Most of the victims were multinational agricultural business which refused to pay “revolutionary tax” as protection money, Gan said.

On Monday, NPA rebels raided the motorpool of the Victory Liner in Capas, Tarlac and burn three bus units and a truck.

According to the military, the number of NPA fighters had decreased to 4,000 from a peak of more than 24,000 in the 1980s. Florante Solmerin, Manila Standard Today