Police pursue armed men in Surigao del Sur arson

BUTUAN CITY – Police are in hot pursuit of about 40 armed men who attacked the outpost of a farmers’ cooperative in Surigao del Sur province in southern Philippines last week, police said on Sunday. Caraga police director Chief Superintendent Lino Calingasan ordered the arrest of the men, who also burned the entrance of the Bisig, Barobo, Hinatuan, Lingin, and Tagbina (Bibahilita) Farmers’ Association last Wednesday. The outpost of the tree farmers’ cooperative was in the villageof Bigaan in Hinatuan town, Surigao del Sur. The armed men, clad in fatigue uniforms, also took the firearms of the outpost’s security guards. No one was reported hurt or killed in the incident. The motives of the perpetrators were still unknown, although initial investigation showed that some members of the Bibahilita farmers had collected toll fees from motorists passing the outpost. The incident occurred on the visit of the Zeñarosa Commission — the body tasked to dismantle private armies nationwide — to Surigao del Norte to look into the spate of political killings in the province. The commission, chaired by Court of Appeals Associate Justice Monina Arevalo Zeñarosa, was formed last January as the government’s response to calls to disband private armed groups in the country. The calls were triggered by the massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province last November 23 allegedly by members of the private army of the powerful Ampatuan clan. The Philippine National Police earlier said at least 68 private armed groups exist in the country, and could reach 170. The Armed Forces, however, declined to name the groups until it validates their existence. — Ben Serrano/SMD/NPA, GMANews.TV