COMMUNIST rebels burned three dump trucks and a bus owned by the Del Monte Philippines Inc. in Claveria town in Misamis Oriental yesterday morning.
Extortion is among angles being eyed as motive for the attack of the New People’s Army which is known to burn equipment of firms that do not heed its extortion demands.
The Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion said the NPA rebels swooped down on Del Monte’s plantation in Sitio Talambao, Barangay Bulahan at around 9:45 a.m. and set the vehicles on fire.
They later withdrew southward, heading for Barangay Juan in the nearby town of Balingasag, said 1Lt. Jefferson Mariano, 58th IB civil military operations officer.
The three dump trucks were used by the company to haul seedlings while the bus was used for transporting workers, he said.
Mariano said investigators are looking at other angles aside from extortion.
Claveria Mayor Meraluna Abrogar also denounced the atrocity, saying, “The burning of properties is a gesture of desperate move to discredit the government.”
“We are saddened by the act of terrorism, but we still continue to fight and protect the peace and public welfare,” Abrogar added.
