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Monday, January 12, 2004
NPA attacks an act of terrorism: gov't
MANILA -- Communist guerillas shot and wounded two bodyguards of a congressman in Sorsogon and attacked a military detachment guarding a power plant in Batangas in separate incidents over the weekend, the military reported Sunday.
In the Sorsogon incident, Rep. Jose Solis was inspecting on Friday a road project in a remote village in his home province when a group of New People's Army (NPA) rebels attacked. He had reportedly rebuffed an extortion attempt of the rebels, added the military.
Three soldiers and four rebels were killed, meanwhile, in the clash that occurred when around 50 guerillas attacked a detachment of the Philippine Air Force's 740th Combat Group. The team was security a National Power Corp. (Napocor) power plant in Calaca town in Batangas before dawn Saturday, said Armed Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero.
Gunmen believed to be affiliated with the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), wounded two of the bodyguards of Solis, took their service firearms and cellular phones, and fled.
The congressman was shaken but unharmed, the military said.
Radio reports said Solis had rebuffed a demand by the NPA for him to pay for a "permit" to campaign in areas controlled by the rebels ahead of May presidential elections.
The communists had previously ordered candidates contesting for seats in Congress to pay them half a million pesos if they campaigned in areas under the influence of the guerillas.
Gubernatorial bets have been asked to pay 300,000 pesos and mayoral candidates 50,000 pesos. In the past, candidates without rebel passes had been ambushed.
Communist rebels have stepped up attacks after a Christmas truce expired.
The attack in Calaca in Batangas was reportedly aimed at crippling Manila's power supply. The power plant is a crucial part of the electrical grid serving Luzon, including Metro Manila.
Also on Saturday, 15 NPA gunmen attacked a commuter terminal in Negros Oriental Province and torched two buses, injuring one person. They burned last Tuesday a cargo truck owned by a sugar planter in Silay City, Negros Occidental.
They also destroyed a cellsite of Globe Telecommunications in Dumarao, Capiz Province.
At least 60 guerrillas were involved in the attack on the Globe cellsite.
The guerrillas, many of them women, disarmed two security guards at the Globe Compound in the hinterland village of Ongol-Ilaya (around 5 kilometers from the town proper), Capiz police director Norlito Bautista said.
The rebels entered the fenced compound and poured gasoline over the base receiver system -- a steel box three meters tall and five meters wide -- before throwing two hand grenades at the small building housing the communications equipment.
The explosion destroyed the equipment and shut off Globe's signal in Dumarao. The signal was still not restored as of noon Friday.
The Globe tower and that of Islacom beside it were undamaged by the explosion, Bautista said. A Smart cellular site, 500 meters from the Globe cell site, was not attacked.
The guerrillas burned three buses in Canlaon City in two separate attacks Friday and Saturday.
President Arroyo on Sunday condemned the attacks and ordered all police and military personnel to stop the NPA's extortion activities, her spokesman Igancio Bunye said in a radio interview.
He said Arroyo assured the families of the soldiers who perished in the NPA's "pure act of terrorism" in Calaca, Batangas, that the military will do everything to give them justice.
The government is however open to forging ahead with peace negotiations with the NPA's mother organization, the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969.
"We are not closing the door to peace talks and we will continually work to find a solution to this problem," Bunye said. (Miko Santos/With AFP)
(January 12, 2004 issue)
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