Police sees extortion behind the Smart relay station raid

By ELI C. DALUMPINES (PIA Samar)
November 21, 2006

CATBALOGAN, Samar  –  Police authorities here saw extortion as the possible reason behind the raid of the Smart Telecommunication’s relay station in a mountainous portion of Brgy. San Andres, Catbalogan town Sunday afternoon.

Catbalogan Municipal Police Station Chief Insp. Carlos G. Vencio, in an interview, said cases like bombing or raid of infrastructure conducted by the New People’s Army (NPA) usually boil down to non-payment of revolutionary taxes.

The police officer did not roll out other possibilities though since the police are still conducting a thorough investigation to determine what the reasons behind the Smart infrastructure raid really are.

Smart’s security personnel Silverio Mabini, 43 years old and a resident of Sitio Sto. Niño, Brgy. San Andres, reported before the police that a group of about 15 armed men led by Ador Pajares came to the relay station, situated some three kilometers northeast from the town proper, at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday and immediately sprayed them with bullets.

No casualty has been reported from the attack, however, except for Mabini’s son, Rodel, 27 years old and also security personnel of the said firm, who suffered minor injuries after an NPA bullet hit his arm. Mabini said he and his son escaped towards Brgy. Mangihay when they were fired upon by the armed group.

Mabini, who was the security guard-on-duty when the incident happened, claimed they did not received warnings from the group before the raid.

To recall, it was the same structure that the NPA burned down almost five years ago reportedly for the telecommunication firm’s failure to pay revolutionary tax.

Pajares was identified as the leader of the Team 1 SK Bago of the CPP-NPA’s Central Front-Samar 1 operating in the areas of Catbalogan and San Jorge towns.