Mindanao farms hit by further losses despite ceasefire

Despite the ongoing peace talks between the government and communist rebels, Mindanao businessmen said that members of the New People’s Army (NPA) continue to harass agricultural plantations, causing major economic losses to both small and big farmers.

A businessmen from Toril, a district in Davao City, said that rebels are asking money from companies in Mindanao, among them agricultural plantations, private contractors, quarrying operators, public market stallholders and smalltime entrepreneurs.