DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 29, 2013) – Communist rebels have taken responsibility for a recent attack on a group of pro-government militias in Davao City in southern Philippines as punishment for violating the rights of local villagers.
Ka Tano Paragas, a rebel spokesman, said fighters from the New People’s Army detonated an explosive that targeted the militias in the village of Tapak in Paquibato district.
He said the militias were allegedly behind a series of cattle rustling and other atrocities against civilians.
Paragas said: “The military also employs the classic tactic of pitting Lumads (tribesmen) against Lumads to control ancestral territories and make it easier for capitalist mining companies to enter and exploit ancestral resources.”
There was no immediate statement from the military about the NPA accusations against the abuses of the army-led militia group in Paquibato district. (Mindanao Examiner)
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