Military to intensify drive vs NPA's extortion activities

The Armed Forces of the Philippines will intensify its anti-extortion drive against communist insurgents who are expected to step up their racket of collecting money from politicians during the election season. "Our commanders on the field are cooperating with LGUs (local government units). We’re telling them to report to us if there are extortion letters," Brigadier General Francisco Cruz, chief of the military Civil Relations Service (CRS), said in a phone interview. Citing intelligence information, Cruz said government troops on the ground had arrested tax collectors from the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Earlier, the CRS Media Affairs Group said the NPA had collected about P1.15 billion from 1996 to 2007, a figure expected to rise during the elections “to cash in on the candidates and to cover the gaping holes of its financial problems." "The money is extorted from construction, mining, telecommunication and transportation companies, logging concessionaires, politicians, and private individuals, including poor farmers, fisherfolk and sari-sari (mom-and-pop) store owners," said Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias, chief of the CRS Media Affairs Group. Waning strength Cruz admitted that extortion activities have become rampant for more than 11 years because these have been the rebel group’s main source of income. "Extortion has been their main preoccupation, their main concentration. Over the years, they have been losing support. Even the local farmers are no longer supporting them," Cruz said. Military records also showed that the communist group had destroyed about P1.2 billion worth of private and public properties from 2000-2009. Cruz noted that despite the group's extortion activities, its strength continues to decline because the bulk of the money goes to the pockets of communist leaders. "Even with this sum, NPA strength continues to decrease. This is because this money does not stay in the mountains but goes to the pockets of their corrupt leaders. Corruption inside the NPA organization has demoralized the NPA, which has caused many of them to leave the movement and join mainstream society," he said. Smartmatic falls prey The firm that will automate the May elections has not been spared by the NPA. Last week, Smartmatic Corp. brought to the government’s attention the alleged harassment it had been experiencing from communist insurgents in provinces like Masbate and Quezon. "The harassment on Smartmatic is viewed not only as part of the NPA’s money-making scheme but also their total disregard for the people’s chance of an advanced voting system," Cruz said. Gene Gregorio, spokesman of the Smartmatic Corp.-Total Information Management (Smartmatic-TIM) consortium, said some areas in Luzon had not been surveyed for transmission signal due to the presence of NPA rebels. Site surveys are conducted to check the availability of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network signal — the same kind used by mobile phones for calls and short message service — for access by polling precincts. On election day, a reliable GSM signal is needed for the transmission of election results to other precincts and poll offices. Gregorio noted that in Masbate and Quezon provinces, the rebels had been extorting money from Smartmatic’s site surveyors and telling them to "do what candidates do." Despite the threat, Smartmatic-TIM has almost completed its nationwide site survey. Gregorio said only seven percent of the country's 84 provinces have not been surveyed. He also said the consortium would likely meet the deadline for site surveys next week. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it was willing to provide military and police escorts to the site surveyors so they can finish their job on time. Some politicians have also been targets of NPA extortion activities with so-called permit-to-campaign taxes. Local candidates are the most vulnerable during the election season. The National Government has discouraged local politicians from giving in to the insurgent group’s demands. In a radio interview on January 15, military information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. appealed to politicians not to be intimidated, saying they should report the illegal activity to authorities. CPP denial The Communist Party of the Philippines, however, branded as a "desperate psy-war concoction" the AFP's claims that its armed wing was charging fees for permits to campaign. [See: AFP, CPP in word war over 'extortion' of candidates] "There is no such thing as a 'permit to win' being issued by the NPA. This is nothing but the AFP's latest psy-war ploy designed to denigrate the revolutionary forces as engaging in and benefiting from vote-buying through extortion," the CPP said on its Website. "In its desperation, the AFP is being caught in a web of its own lies. Military officials claim that the NPA is already a spent force, but issues press releases implying that the NPA is in a position to require candidates to deal with it monetarily to ensure victory in the elections," it added. — LBG/NPA, GMANews.TV