Communist rebels kill one in extortion bid in Mindanao
The Manila Times – www.manilatimes.net
Monday, 26 April 2010
DAVAO: Communist rebels killed a government militiaman on Sunday in the latest incident of guerillas attempting to extort money from Philippine election candidates, police said.
Three militiamen and an undetermined number of rebels were also wounded in the clash in Santa Cruz town, in the southern island of Mindanao, said provincial police Director Ronald de la Rosa.
The gun battle broke out as the militiamen—trained and equipped by the military to defend their communities—were investigating a tip that the rebels were waiting for extortion payments from a politician running in the May 10 national elections, the police official said.
De la Rosa did not identify the politician or say if the money had been delivered.
The New People’s Army (NPA) has been extorting money from election candidates, demanding that they pay anywhere between P5,000 and P20 million or their campaigners will be attacked, the military said.
This has led to more clashes between government forces and the rebels in recent months, including the killing of four policemen in an ambush as they were checking on NPA extortion activities near Manila on Tuesday.
The NPA is the armed wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969.
The military said recently the NPA’s strength had fallen from a peak of more than 26,000 in 1987 to below 5,000 currently.
However they remain a potent force and the communist insurgency has claimed more than 3,000 lives over the past decade, according to the military.
The military said last month the communists were set to rake in millions of dollars from such extortion tactics ahead of the elections.
AFP
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