Wednesday, October 08, 2008 Rody orders village chief to block rebels’ entry By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ordered all barangay chiefs in the city never to allow the entry of Special Partisan Units (Sparu) of the New People's Army (NPA) in their barangays.
The Sparu is the one assigned to assassinate people as ordered by the NPA hierarchy.
The order came after intelligence reports showed that the liquidation group of the NPA had started infiltrating barangays in Davao City.
Duterte said he does not want Sparus entering the city and advised the barangay captains to send the message to rebels who enter their villages.
"Dili nako gusto ang Sparu musulod dinhi. Kung musulay sila ug istorya ninyo, ingna sila nga di ko gusto ana (I don't like Sparus here. If they attempt to talk with you, tell them I do not want them in the city)," Duterte told the barangay captains in a gathering over the weekend.
Davao City Police Office director Ramon Apolinario admitted that reports are rife on the entry of rebels in the city. He did not say though as to what is the purpose of the Sparu in penetrating the city of Davao.
Military authorities had long been warning that Davao City is the penultimate target of the NPA in Mindanao as it is considered as the center point of trade in the island.
Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson Major Arman Rico said the NPA has three reasons for infiltrating the city: one is for extortion and to terrorize their targets; second is to divert the attention of the military who are now operating in the mountains; and third is to pretend to be strong to hide their weakness.
"They are pretending to be a force to reckon with," Rico said.
The Sparu has gained notoriety in the 1980's when they made Agdao their base of operation. The group is infamous for its liquidation of police, military, public officials and civilians who are known to be abusive.
