NPA leaders, bomb maker surrender in Compostela Valley
MANILA, Philippines — At least four key personalities of the Pulang Bagani Command (PBC) of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the Davao region surrendered in New Bataan, Compostela Valley last week.
Col. Manuel Siquitin, 701st Infantry Brigade commander, said a certain Cory, vice commander of the Basil platoon of the PBC; an alias JB, a bomb maker, and team leaders Aldrin and Jeffrey yielded an M16 rifle, a caliber .45 pistol, three improvised explosive devices, bomb materials, medical supplies, documents of high intelligence value and P6,500 in cash.
“The surrender of these rebels is a result of... focused operations of the 66th Infantry Battalion,” Siquitin said.
Davao and Compostela Valley, where the presence of communist rebels remains high, are primary areas of military operations.
Mining equipment burned
Meanwhile, in Negros Oriental, communist rebels burned more than a dozen heavy equipment owned by a mining company in Barangay Jandalamon, Ayungon on Wednesday.
Seven back hoes, two loaders, a grader, a bulldozer and two generator sets were destroyed, Brig. Gen. Ignacio Madriaga, 302nd Infantry Brigade commander, said.
Madriaga said the communist rebels disarmed the security guards of Pilipinas Eco-Friendly Mining Corp. before setting the equipment on fire. He said the management of PEMC could have ignored the extortion demands of the NPA.
The Cansermon Command of the NPA claimed responsibility for the incident.
Its spokesman, Dionesio Magbuelas, said PEMC, which supplies silica to cement factories in Cebu, destroyed the environment in Ayungon.
Magbuelas claimed that mining operations in Ayungon destroyed around 2,000 hectares of rice fields and other farm lots. – Gilbert Bayoran
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