BACOLOD City – The Rachelle Mae Palang Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) said it was responsible for torching heavy equipment in a quarry site in Negros Oriental.
NPA spokeswoman Ka Estrella Banag-banag said their forces raided the quarry site in Sitio Major, Barangay Cawitan, Sta. Catalina on Sept. 15.
Banag-banag said they burned the backhoe and pay loader at the quarry site.
They also recovered several high-powered firearms from security personnel manning the area, she added.
The raid was a “punitive action” for the company in charge of the quarry operation, according to the NPA.
Banag-banag said the company has been employing “destructive means of small-scale mining” that resulted in environmental degradation and loss of farmers’ livelihood in the area.
She added that the quarry operation – which affected the normal flow of water to rice fields – caused low crop production.
Banag-banag said the torching of the heavy equipment was the revolutionary movement’s warning to other companies that engage in “anti-people activities.”/PN
