NPA rebels seize 1,000 sacks of rice

DAVAO CITY—A communist spokesperson claimed that rebels had taken more than a thousand sacks of rice during a raid on a warehouse owned by a councilor of Valencia City, Bukidnon province, on Monday and would distribute these to victims of El Niño.

Ariel Magbanwag, spokesperson of the New People’s Army (NPA) unit operating in Bukidnon, said in a statement that the rice, seized from the warehouse of Councilor Helen Bernal, would be distributed to residents hit by the ongoing drought.

Magbanwag said it took the rebels 15 minutes to seize 1,384 sacks of rice and load these into four trucks.

The NPA spokesperson accused Bernal of hoarding rice.

But Bernal, who is running for re-election, denied the allegation.

Bernal, in a radio interview on Wednesday, said her warehouse did not have any security guard as she believed her family had no known enemies in Bukidnon.

She said she was grateful that no one was killed or injured during the NPA raid.

The Bukidnon provincial police said the warehouse’s secretary, Connie Martinez, saw at least 60 armed men enter the compound and commandeer four trucks loaded with sacks of rice worth an estimated P2.5 million.

Police said the rebels also took a TV set, a computer unit, a printer, 15 pieces of cell phone batteries and P30,000 in cash.

Magbanwag admitted the rebels took two flat-screen CCTV monitors, an automatic voltage regulator and carpentry tools.

Magbanwag said the confiscated rice would be immediately distributed to villagers affected by the drought in Bukidnon.

The rice, he said, could “offer minor relief.”

Magbanwag accused Bernal and her family of using their influence to control rice farming and trade in Valencia City and adjacent towns, and charging usurious interests on farmers’ loans.

“She controls the lives of peasants under her wide network of usury operations,” said Magbanwag.

The Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division, through spokesperson Major Joe Patrick Martinez, condemned the raid.

“What else do we expect from the NPA? Stealing is a crime. They’re taking rice that people worked hard for,” Martinez said.

He said what the NPA did was to perpetuate crime, accusing the rebel group of turning to banditry.