NPA rebels burn equipment in DavOr

SUSPECTED members of the New People’s Army (NPA) burned some equipment of a mountain resort in Barangay Ompao, Tarragona in Davao Oriental on Wednesday morning, May 30, after its management refused to give in to the latter’s extortion demand.

Police Regional Office (PRO 11) spokesperson Police Chief Inspector Milgrace Driz told reporters yesterday that policemen in Davao Oriental responded to a burning incident around 6 a.m. at Adam’s Haven Mountain Resort.

Based on the police report, 26 armed men arrived at the mountain resort looking for the owner of the establishment, identified as engineer Ariel Carmina Mosquera.

The suspects said in vernacular, “Mga NPA mi og nganung nagpahimo mo og establishment diri nga wala mo mananghid sa amoa, nga kaning maong lugara sakop pa sa among AOR, dapat mag hatag mo og revolutionary tax kay kami ang gobyerno sa mga kabos (We are members of the NPA and why did you construct an establishment here without asking permission from us? This place is part of our area of responsibility and you are obliged to pay revolutionary tax because we are the government of the poor).”

After finding out that Mosquera was not around, they burned one multicab unit, one generator set, and one electric steel cutter.

The estimated cost of the damaged properties, according to Driz, amounted to P600,000.

She added the management had previously received extortion letters

from the communist group but they did not budge and instead burned the letter.

Local authorities are mobilizing their forces to hunt down the suspects.

Driz said the PRO 11 condemns the burning act by the NPA and urged its members to surrender instead so that the government can help them by giving them livelihood programs.