My stand against NPA’s criminal act in Surigao

By JOSE L. MANGUBAT, josemangubat@ymail.com
October 22, 2011

The terrorist attacks by members of the New Peoples Army in Surigao del Norte significantly affect the country’s economy. Leaving almost nothing to the mining firms and thousands of its workers, the Philippine government would have difficulty in regaining this loss. Moreover, the said atrocity poses fear on the part of would-be investors to our country. And this means bonus agony to poor Filipinos whom the communists claimed as beneficiaries of their revolutionary actions. Is this their promised justice and fairness for the poor Juan dela Cruz?

Lawless! The anti-mining claims of the NPA over burning those mining equipment is a foolish reason to justify their concern on environmental protection. It only reveals their barbaric stance in resolving issues though authorities recently consider the legality of the mining firms whose equipments were drastically torched by rebels.

Where is justice in it? The CPP-NPA-NDF must now prove that they are for the masses. If not by feeding the thousands of families who will soon experience extreme hunger, at least a hand to the employees who will be loosing their job soon.

Where are now those progressive groups who will investigate this terrorist activity of the New Peoples Army? Will the group of KMU, KARAPATAN and their like surface out their counter actions against this criminal gesture of the NPA? Or this is just another NPA tactic to agitate the people to strike against our lenient Philippine government? And their catchword when they shout and march on the streets will be: Job for the dying Filipinos!

Reports recently revealed that the communist attack was disciplinary in nature to the mining firms for allegedly not supporting the revolutionary actions staged by the CPP-NPA-NDF against the government. According to the military, the reason of the attack is not the communist’s fake stand for environmental protection but plainly extortion since mining firms refused to hand out what the rebels call as revolutionary tax. Indeed, communists are not just bandits but also false tax collectors.

This dilemma should not happen again and again or the country totally looses its chance to regain from its economic downfall. The communist will do the same lawless activity to over turn the government and many more will suffer for their anti peace and development agenda. They said they do not want the mining firms to destroy the natural resources although the said mining firms had been operating in the area for some years. But what they have destroyed is not actually the mining firms but families of the people working in it. And what would be of those employees who feared to loose their living?