NPA rebels burn heavy equipment of Enrile-owned wood firm in Agusan Sur

BUNAWAN, Agusan del Sur — Around 80 fully armed New People’s Army rebels on Tuesday burned heavy equipment of a wood processing firm of the JAKA Group, owned by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, in Prosperidad town in Agusan del Sur, a belated police report said Thursday.

A report from Agusan del Sur Provincial Police Office claimed around 80 fully armed NPA rebels swooped down on the Casilayan Softwood Development Corporation (CSDC) located at Purok 1 in San Salvador village Tuesday noon and burned a grader, a backhoe and a ten-wheeler logging truck.

Moreover, the report said the attackers were from Guerilla Front 19 of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee headed by alias Eman.

The CSDC is operating a wood processing plant in Prosperidad and a match factory in Magallanes town in Agusan del Norte.

Meanwhile, Caraga Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Reynaldo S. Rafal said the rebels immediately withdrew towards Barangay San Martin, also in Prosperidad, upon knowing government troops were coming.

Agusan del Sur Provincial Police Operatives and Special Action Force (SAF) conducted hot pursuit operations against the fleeing communist rebels, while an ongoing investigation into the incident is being conducted. — Ben Serrano /LBG, GMA News

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Enrile to Palace: Why not send Moro leaders to academies?

If the government wants to help develop Moro leaders, it could have sent them to existing academies instead of giving P5 million for a so-called Bangsamoro Management and Leadership Institute, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Sunday.

Citing his experience under the Ferdinand Marcos administration, Enrile said Marcos had given aid to rebels who surrendered in the form of jobs, but not cash to their organization.

“Mabuti pa ipadala ang heneral ng MILF at NPA sa (Philippine National) Police Academy at Philippine Military Academy, he said in an interview on dzBB.

(If the government wanted to help rebel groups train new leaders, it would have been better if they sent Moro Islamic Liberation Front and New People’s Army generals to the PNPA or the PMA.)

The Aquino administration has been criticized for giving P5 million to the MILF, supposedly intended for the Bangsamoro Leadership Institute.

Presidential peace process adviser Teresita Deles has defended the “aid," saying the money was a commitment of the previous administration that the Aquino administration found worth pursuing.

“Ang masasabi ko lang... hindi namin ginawa yan kailanman. Ginawa lang ni Marcos noong nag-surrender ang mga leader ng MNLF, binigyan ng trabaho," Enrile said.

He said the Marcos administration similarly gave jobs to New People’s Army members who surrendered. — LBG, GMA News

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http://ph.news.yahoo.com/enrile-palace-why-not-send-moro-leaders-academies-052809174.html