THE New People’s Army (NPA) said Saturday that it deployed guerrillas to burn a cassava milling facility owned by a businessman accused of grabbing ancestral lands in Bukidnon.
Nikolas Marino, NPA spokesperson for Northern Mindanao, sent text messages to reporters saying that a team of 12 armed rebels attacked the facility in Barangay Siloo, Malitbog, Misamis Oriental, after overpowering the guards.
The messages marked a rare communication from the NPA, which has largely remained silent since suffering setbacks, including the deaths of top leaders Jorge Madlos, also known as ‘Ka Oris,’ and former National Democratic Front consultant Pedro Cudaste, both killed in Bukidnon in 2021.
Following the deaths, the NPA tightened security and stopped sending statements to the media.
Police Sgt. Graciano Temano of the Malitbog police station confirmed the attack, saying the rebels gathered workers before setting fire to cassava chip stocks, a milling machine, and a building.
Temano said no one was injured. The facility owner estimated the damage at P3 million.
Marino said the rebels also confiscated an air rifle and two radio sets from a guard.
The Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro said only about 100 NPA fighters remain active in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental after government troops dismantled most of the group’s guerrilla fronts in the Mt. Pantaron range, which spans Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, and Misamis Oriental.
