Communist rebels send out extortion letters to Panay businesses

THE MILITARY has called on the business sector in Panay Island to coordinate more closely with them in order to put a stop to the continued extortion activities of the communist New People’s Army (NPA). The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division made the appeal amid reports that the NPA’s factions within different parts of the island have been sending out letters asking for the so-called revolutionary tax to companies, particularly those involved in construction and power and telecommunication facilities. Captain Eduardo Precioso Jr., chief of the 3rd ID Division Public Affairs Office, said several firms have confirmed receiving the letters. “Unfortunately, some of them are not cooperative (with us),” he lamented. “Had we been informed (by the firms), we could have made ways to stop this illegal activity from going on. The asking for extortion demand would not stop if they (firms) would give. It would just open the floodgates for more monetary demands,” Mr. Precioso added. He warned that these funds collected would mean helping the bandits go after government troops and sabotaging development projects, especially in the countryside. “The extortion money that will be collected will be used to procure armaments, bomb components and eventually expand their terroristic activities in the region thereby increasing their extortion activities in the area,” he said. —