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CAMP RAFAEL C. RODRIGUEZ, Butuan City: At least 60
heavily armed New People’s Army (NPA) rebels swooped down on a
mining company in Sitio Mendezona, Barangay Raja Cabungsuan, Lingig,
Surigao del Sur, late Tuesday afternoon. The rebels disarmed seven
company guards of their high-powered firearms without firing a
single shot, sketchy reports reaching the command and operation
center of the Northeastern Mindanao Police Regional Office 13 (PRO
13) here said on Wednesday.
In his report to Chief Supt.
Antonio D. Nanas, regional director of Northeastern Mindanao PRO 13,
Senior Supt. Alex Ga, provincial police director in Surigao del Sur,
said the raiders also carted away seven handheld radios and a
laptop.
The rebels entered the mining
camp at 5:35 p.m. and completely surprised the company guards, who
were reportedly preparing for dinner when the incident happened.
Field reports also stated that
the intruders reportedly destroyed the mining company’s radio base
station before fleeing to nearby forested and mountainous area of
Mendezona.
The workers of the mining firm,
including the company guards, were reportedly unharmed.
Top management of the mining
company did not issue any statement regarding the incident.
The command and operation center
of PRO 13 ordered the deployment of regional and provincial mobile
force to track down the fleeing NPA guerrillas.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Jose T.
Barbieto, area command chief of the Army’s Northeastern and
Northern Mindanao Fourth Infantry (Diamond) Division, on Wednesday
ordered Col. Jose B. Viscarra, commanding officer of the Army’s
401st Infantry (Unite and Fight) Brigade, to look into a reported
raid of a mining firm in Lingig town.
Barbieto also directed field unit
commanders to pursue without letup the fleeing NPA rebels in Lingig.
--PNA
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