Hours after ceasefire, NPA rebs launch attacks

Communist rebels on Tuesday attacked civilians and set their vehicles on fire hours after the one-week ceasefire with the government ended, the military said Wednesday. The military said the attack occurred at around 11:30 a.m. when a group of around 30 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels under one Ka Jigger and one Ka Raya intercepted a convoy in San Fernando, Bukidnon. Maj. Eugenio Osias, commander of the 4th Civil-Military Operations Battalion, said the rebels briefly held the workers before pouring gasoline on their vehicles, which were owned by Eagles Equipment, a subcontractor of PhilPost Mining Company. Burned were two dump trucks, two backhoes, and a Toyota Hilux pickup vehicle, Osias said. The attack occurred 500 meters away from a mining site. Osias said the rebels later released the workers, telling them the incident would not have occurred had their bosses cooperated with them. He said the NPA members were demanding “revolutionary tax." “The NPA is losing essential support from the populace and they are having a hard time securing funds from the revolutionary tax," Osias said. Revolutionary tax In the peace talks between the government and the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) from Feb. 19 to 25, the government failed to secure a commitment from the NDF that it will stop the NPA, its armed wing, from collecting revolutionary tax. In a video conference with reporters on Tuesday, government chief negotiator Alex Padilla said the NDF insisted their right to collect taxes even as the government stood firm in its position that the illegal practice would result in its perpetrators’ arrest. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the NPA had concluded a one-week ceasefire coinciding with the resumption of formal peace talks between the government and the NDF. Other NPA attacks In Davao City, a group of around 30 rebels reportedly ransacked the residence of village chief Alfredo Austral of Baguio District, at around 3:45 p.m. also on Tuesday. The 10th Infantry Division reported that Austral was out attending a seminar when the rebels, led by an alias Bobby, mounted the attack. The rebels then carted away a 12-gauge shotgun and a cellphone battery from Austral’s son, who was then inside the house with his siblings. The military said the family was “terrified by the rebels’ threats and intimidation." In Camarines Sur, government forces injured and then captured a female NPA fighter after a brief clash at around 2:30 p.m., according to 9th Infantry Division spokesman Maj. Harold Cabunoc. He said the soldiers conducted operations in the area after residents informed them of the presence of armed rebels. Cabunoc said two motorcycle-riding rebels fired upon the soldiers, after which a firefight ensued, resulting in the wounding of Darlene Paloma, alias Ka Breda, 22, who yielded a cellphone and a caliber .45 pistol. Paloma was later taken to a military hospital where she was given first-aid treatment for a wound on her leg. She was later moved to a civilian hospital, which found no fracture on her leg. Cabunoc said Paloma, mother of a three-year-old boy, has expressed intentions of returning to the folds of the law. “Such acts of violence and terrorism will not be tolerated. These coward acts of violence against our communities must have to stop and we must put an end to it," said 4th Infantry Division chief Maj. Gen. Victor Felix. - Paterno Esmaquel II/KBK, GMA News