Philex denies NPA attack in Compostela
OZAMIZ CITY—Philex Mining Co. said reports indicating that New People’s Army (NPA) rebels attacked its supposed compound in Compostela Valley are false.
“Neither Philex Mining [nor] its subsidiaries have any exploration or mining activity in the Davao region,” said Rene Patangan, media affairs relations officer of the company in Surigao del Norte.
On Friday, over a dozen NPA rebels swooped down on the compound of Philco Mining in Sitio Tagpura, Camanlangan village, in New Bataan town in Compostela Valley past 8 p.m. and torched two Elf trucks, two backhoes and a drilling machine, Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said.
At almost the same time, about 20 guerrillas also set on fire a Nissan Terrano sports utility vehicle owned by an unidentified person at the mining village of Mainit, in nearby Nabunturan town, Paniza said.
Philco Mining is a subsidiary of Australian firm Mining Group Ltd.
Rochelle Hilario, communications manager of Philex, said the firm’s projects were located in Negros Occidental, Surigao del Norte and Zamboanga del Norte. Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao
