BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—Police reported on Tuesday the burning of a passenger jeepney in Toboso, Negros Occidental, by unidentified men, early Monday, a day after soldiers of the 15th Infantry Battalion left their camp for deployment to Mindanao.

The police said four men, carrying .45 pistols, ordered the six passengers and the driver identified as Ben Pescala to alight from the vehicle before they set it on fire 5:45 a.m. Monday.

Senior Inspector Nestor Tuadles, Toboso police chief, said the armed men left Pescala and the six passengers unharmed.

The Bureau of Fire and Protection’s arson investigators placed the damage to the vehicle owned by Ely Binas of Escalante, Negros Occidental at P80,000.

Tuadles said on Tuesday they had yet to identify the armed men who burned Binas' passenger jeepney and establish the motive for the burning.

The 15th Infantry Battalion that left for Mindanao on Sunday afternoon had their camps in Toboso.

The 32nd and 33rd Reconnaissance Companies of Army's 3rd Infantry Division have started to occupy the areas vacated by the 15th Infantry Battalion in northern Negros.

In many parts of the country, where there are armed insurgent groups, the military backs the police in maintaining peace and order.