Troops rushed to Surigao after mining attacks

Raids by communist rebels shut down country’s largest nickel producer and hurt government efforts to attract foreign investments

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday ordered the security for mining companies beefed up after raids by communist rebels shut down the operations of the country’s largest nickel producer and sent its stock plummeting.

More than 200 rebels disarmed guards, briefly held company staff, torched offices, equipment and vehicles, and ambushed a convoy led by a police general responding to Monday’s attacks on three mines run by Nickel Asia Corp. and Platinum Group Metals Corp. in Claver, Surigao del Norte.

Following the President’s instructions, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said additional troops and government-armed civilian militiamen will be sent to improve security for mining operators in the remote areas.

The government assured the business community the attacks were an “isolated case.”

“There is a very large investment there, but it appears we are spread too thin. We will make sure that we will beef up security,” Robredo said.

Armed Forces deputy chief Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta told reporters as many as 600 soldiers would be deployed to Surigao del Norte to augment the forces there and to pursue the attackers.

A military statement said the rebels destroyed at least P1 billion worth of equipment and property.

“These are non-military targets, and what we are seeing now is they are now becoming a nuisance to economic development in that area,” Mabanta said.

Police spokesman Agrimero Cruz said the attacks were “well planned” and “motivated by money.”

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the rebel attacks undermined the peace process and made it difficult to pursue peace negotiations with the communists.

“We will not be held hostage by the rebels,” Lacierda said.

“There is no ceasefire. We will run after them with hammer and thongs.”

The attacks, some of the biggest raids in years by the communist rebels, dealt a blow to the mining industry just as the government was trying to woo investors to increase revenue and spending on social services.

Abject poverty, with one of every three Filipinos eking a living on $1 a day, has allowed the Marxist insurgency, one of Asia’s longest, to survive beyond the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The rebels accuse mining operators of destroying the environment and exploiting workers.

The shares of Nickel Asia Corp. dropped by 13 percent in early trading Tuesday on the Philippine Stock Exchange after the mine operator suspended activities because of the attack. The stock ended the day down 2.55 percent.

Emmanuel Samson, Nickel Asia’s senior vice president and chief finance officer, said it was the first time rebels targeted the company.

He told ABS-CBN television it was too early to give an estimate of the damage. He noted the company could use two other mines to cover the shipments affected by the attack.

The Philippines is the world’s fifth largest mining country, with large reserves of minerals including gold, copper and nickel. But extraction and production has been slow, hampered by bureaucracy and red tape and a concerted campaign by environment activists against mining.

Investment in the mining sector reached $956 million last year. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said last month that mining was forecast to grow 17 percent this year, with investment reaching $18 billion by 2016.

The rebel New People’s Army, listed as a terrorist group by Washington, has repeatedly threatened to attack mining companies, accusing them of exploiting the nation’s resources and labor force.

The military has said rebel attacks on mining firms are part of long-standing extortion attempts.

Rebel spokesman Jorge Madlos threatened more attacks if mining companies ignored their concerns. He said that before Monday’s attacks, the guerrillas wrote letters and sought meetings with mining company officials but were ignored.

“If they still won’t reform and continue to ignore us, there will be bigger attacks,” Madlos told the Associated Press by telephone.

“They know now that we can do this.”

Madlos said the rebels “admonished” company management during the raid. He said those held for about five hours included some Japanese, Chinese and American managers.

He noted that the rebel movement was not totally against mining operations.

“If they want to return, we are open to discussion on this matter as long as they adhere to revolutionary policies,” he said.

As the Palace ordered a nationwide threat assessment in the wake of Monday’s attacks, National Police chief Gen. Nicanor Bartolome relieved three top policemen in the province, citing a failure of intelligence.

A group of miners on Tuesday sought protection from the government in light of the renewed threat of communist attacks.

“We appeal to the Aquino government for protection of mine operations and sound investments that contribute needed taxes to improve our economy and provide livelihood and jobs for poor Filipinos,” Mine Safety Association president Louie Sarmiento said in a statement. –Florante S. Solmerin and Joyce Pangco Pañares with Othel V. Campos, AP, Bloomberg