PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 21, 2012) – Communist rebels have threatened to attack mining firms operating in the Zamboanga Peninsula in the southern Philippines.
Jorge Madlos, a spokesman for the New People’s Army, also warned soldiers and policemen from protecting mining firms he accused of plundering natural resources.
The warning came after rebels freed a policeman Faizahl Juhaili who was held hostage during a raid at a police headquarters in Zamboanga del Sur’s Tigbao town last month.
“During combat situations, in order to avert the unnecessary loss of lives, we ask the combatants from the opposite side of the armed conflict to desist from any attempt to resist when your opportunity to fight back is nil in order, especially so that you are only fighting as mercenary pawns defending the interest of plundering mining companies like the Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI) and other vested interests of the ruling class that pay you with people’s taxes,” Madlos said.
TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc., a Philippine subsidiary of TVI, has repeatedly denied accusations by rebels and said it follows a strict international safety measures to protect the environment.
It is among mining companies operating in Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte and had been attacked in the past by Muslim and communist rebels who were extorting money from TVI.
In December last year, NPA rebels in Diplahan town in Zamboanga Sibugay province intercepted a group of army soldiers who were using a borrowed truck from TVI and disarmed them. The rebels also burned the truck before releasing the soldiers.
Muslim rebels had previously attacked TVI workers in Zamboanga del Norte province and killed 17 people.
Just this year, the 1st Infantry Division in Zamboanga del Sur pulled out all its militiamen guarding TVIRD properties in Bayog town after its memorandum of agreement with the mining firm expired.
The 1st Infantry Division said it would have to review the agreement. TVIRD pays for the salaries of the government militias who are members of the Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary (SCAA).
The Western Mindanao Command said NPA rebels are harassing mining firms to force them to pay extortion money. It said the military is also reviewing all agreements in the use of SCAA to guard mining firms from rebel attacks.
“SCAA contracts between companies and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are renewed yearly. The renewal is facilitated by the concerned company. In the absence of contract renewal, a SCAA company is temporarily pulled out, but units are ensured that the security of establishments is augmented by nearby detachments,” Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner. (Mindanao Examiner)
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