GOVERNMENT troops have seized 45 plastic containers filled with an estimated 15 sacks of rice the New People's Army (NPA) rebels extorted from farmers in Bukidnon, the military said Friday, June 8.
Captain Norman Tagros, Civil-Military Operations chief of the Army's 403rd Infantry Brigade, said the containers filled with rice were discovered around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday at Sitio Mahusay in Dominorog village, Talakag, Bukidnon.
Tagros said the Army's 1st Special Forces Battalion were on security patrol in response to the reports and complaints of concerned residents who are already fed-up with the extortion activities of the NPAs when they discovered the rice stocks.
He said the residents in the area are also constantly forced join the Milisyang Bayan (MB) and to take up arms against the government.
These MB members are tasked to provide provisions, including rice, and carry the foodstuffs to the mountains where they are then asked by the NPA to bury using 20-liter plastic water containers.
Brigadier General Eric Vinoya, Army's 403rd Infantry Brigade commander, slammed the NPAs for maintaining a food cache to the expense of hungry farmers.
He further called upon the residents in NPA-infested communities to continue cooperating with the government troops in order to eradicate the threat of the group once and for all.
"It is very unacceptable on the part of the CPP-NPA terrorist leadership to allow their minions on the ground to do such shameful and abusive acts such as taking food from poor people who could hardly survive a day with food on their tables out of lies and deception. This is what terrorists are really good at," Vinoya said in a statement. (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)