NPA issues new threats vs mining company in Central Mindanao

COTABATO CITY – The police and military have beefed up security in Central Min­danao amid fresh threats from the New People’s Army (NPA) against the mining firm Sagittarius Mines Inc.

In a statement e-mailed to different media outlets in Central Mindanao, Dencio Madrigal of the NPA’s Valentin Palamine Command said they plan to cripple Sagittarius Mines, which has foreign investors, to stop its continuing “exploitation” of natural resources in the region.

Sagittarius operates in the adjoining provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and Davao del Sur, where the NPA has known strongholds.          

Madrigal said the NPA is keen on initiating tactical maneuvers against Sagittarius Mines as “punitive action” against the firm.

Madrigal said they blame the Arroyo administration for the proliferation of mining ventures in Mindanao.

“It has brazenly facilitated the entry of foreign multinational mining companies like (Sagittarius) and (even) gave them blanket authority to exploit our natural resources,” he said.

Madrigal said the incorporators of Sagittarius, among them former Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Paul Dominguez and his technical staffer, Landy Doria, will be litigated in the NPA’s “kangaroo court” for their involvement in the company’s operations in Mindanao.