Armed men burn construction equipment in Negros Oriental

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines—Armed men on Friday torched heavy equipment of a contractor working on a government project in Manjuyod, Negros Oriental, officials said.

No one was hurt in the attack but the assailants destroyed a back hoe, a crane, two dump trucks and a bulldozer belonging to LL Construction, owned by La Libertad Mayor Lawrence Limkaichong, husband of Representative Jocelyn Limkaichong of Negros Oriental’s first district.

The police initially suspected communist rebels were behind the attack but a military official expressed doubt the New People’s Army was involved.

Representative Limkaichong declined to identify the attackers, saying she didn’t want to preempt an ongoing investigation. She said, however, she believed the attack was meant to discourage investors in Negros Oriental.

The Limkaichong-owned LL Construction won the bid  to construct a wall to prevent landslides on a  mountain slope Barangay Bala-as, some  65 kilometers north of Dumaguete.

About 1 a.m. Friday, three armed men appeared and fired warning shots at the workers and set fire to the trucks and other heavy equipment.

In his report to the PNP Central Visayas regional office in Cebu City, Senior Superintendent Edward Carranza, Negros Oriental police director, said the attack could be the work of the NPA although he did not say why they would take such action.

The report cited witnesses who heard the perpetrators shouting, “Mabuhay ang NPA (Long live the NPA)” before withdrawing.

But Colonel Francisco Patrimonio, commander of the Philippine Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade, said he doubted communist rebels were responsible and  urged investigators to look at all possible angles and motives.

Patrimonio noted the absence of  “certain indications” or hallmarks of an NPA attack.

For one, he said, the NPA has not come out with a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.

Representative Limkaichong  said the attack was an act of economic sabotage.

“If the intention of the sabotage… is to scare me off, then their psychological warfare is not working,” the congresswoman said in a text message to the Inquirer.

“They miscalculated their moves because the ripple effects of their action has affected the entire province and its people. What is even worse and extremely dangerous is when these senseless people gain power in government. How then can you expect good governance?”