Reds storm Camarines mining firm, burn equipment

CAMARINES NORTE, Philippines – Armed men believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA) destroyed four heavy equipment in a pre-dawn raid on an international mining firm in Labo, Camarines Norte shortly after midnight Sunday.

The rebels, numbering around 80, swooped down on Bohai Top International Mining Corp. in Barangay Napaod, Labo town at past 1 a.m. and set two dump trucks and two payloaders on fire, said town police chief Superintendent Efren Tublan.

He said the rebels disarmed the two security guards and threatened to shoot the workers if they resisted.

The military said the attack was sparked by the refusal of the firm’s management to give in to the rebels’ extortion demand. The company is reportedly owned by Peein Man, a Chinese national.

Authorities have yet to determine the value of the property destroyed in the attack.

Army troops are pursuing the rebels who fled towards Barangay Benit also in Labo town. – Francis Elevado, Jaime Laude