NPA owns up to burning three more trucks in Toboso

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Roselyn Jean Pelle Command (RJPC)-Northern Negros Guerilla Front of the New People’s Army (NPA) claimed the burning of three additional trucks of a landowner in Barangay San Isidro, Toboso, Negros Occidental on Monday, Dec. 26.

In a statement released to the media yesterday, Cecil Estrella, spokesperson of RJPC-NPA, accused a landowner – whose name was withheld – of “disrespecting” the revolutionary movement and “completely disregarding” the alleged repeated calls of his farm workers for wage increase and benefits.

Estrella said the incident occurred within the guerrilla zones of RJPC-NPA during the 54th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Estrella added it was the second sanction imposed against the landowner, following the first burning incident which left P600,000 worth of damage on his two trucks in Barangay Tabun-ac on Dec. 14.

This is in response to the CPP’s call to NPA units to mount military offensives, she added.

Earlier, the group noted that they are not interested in subjecting the landowner’s business operation to a collection of revolutionary tax due to alleged complaints on labor issues, land disputes, and his counter-revolutionary nature.

For the NPA rebel group, this incident was another slap on the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (IBde) and 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) regarding their ‘dismantled front’ claims.

The group said that peace talks should be on a national scale that tackles the root cause of armed conflict which are genuine land reform, and national industrialization to address unsecured jobs, among others.

Meanwhile, Police Major Jun Ray Batadlan, Toboso town police chief, has not issued a statement yet regarding the incident.