Army watching pols helping NPA

LAGUNA—A Philippine Army official said authorities are keeping tabs on local politicians who allegedly connive with New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas to collect so-called revolutionary taxes from government contractors and private firms.

Col. Ivan Samarita, head of the Army’s 202nd Infantry Brigade based in Cavinti, Laguna, in a phone interview, said some politicians play middlemen between guerrillas and targets of extortion.

Col. Leoncio Cirunay, the brigade’s civil military operations officer, said the NPA usually warns target firms or businesses against refusing to pay revolutionary tax by torching their facilities. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon