Security in Bukidnon plantations tightened

MANILA, Philippines - Assisted by police and the military, multinational firm Del Monte has tightened security following New People’s Army (NPA) attacks on its plantation office and truck yard in Camp Phillips, Bukidnon Tuesday night.

The heavily armed rebels, numbering about 100, first tried to rob a gasoline station but police responded swiftly, triggering a 30-minute firefight, during which the insurgents burned three units of heavy equipment and an employees’ bus at the Del Monte truck yard.

According to Del Monte, the rebels further tried to torch equipment at its nearby plantation office but were unsuccessful.

The insurgents, however, fatally shot a security guard and wounded two others, as employees trapped in their offices escaped unharmed.

Del Monte said its operations were not affected by the incident, and its key assets at the plantation and cannery “have been safely secured.”

“The incident is truly unfortunate, and the Del Monte management is unaware of the reasons why the rebels committed such acts of violence. Del Monte has been operating in Bukidnon for the last 87 years, and it has provided gainful employment to over 20,000 people across 10 municipalities,” the company said in a statement.

The rebels also swooped down on the Dole-Stanfilco plantation in Impasug-ong town and reportedly disarmed the security guards. The military, however, said only a .38-caliber revolver was taken from a guard.

In a statement, the NPA’s North-Central Mindanao Regional Command, through its spokesman Allan Juanito, owned up to the attacks.

Col. Arnulfo Burgos, Armed Forces spokesman, said the NPA attacks on civilian targets are clear violations of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

Burgos said the plantations are not military camps but civilian workplaces that provide jobs to the locals. – Jigger Jerusalem, Jaime Laude