LUCENA CITY—The New People’s Army attacked the Australian-controlled Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) in Tampakan town in South Cotabato as a punishment for environmental destruction in the firm’s mining site, a communist spokesman said yesterday.
In a statement sent to the Inquirer, Communist Party of the Philippines spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal said the raid on SMI was also in accordance with the directive for the CPP “to carry out offensive operations against big foreign mining firms that the Arroyo regime brings into the country to plunder natural resources.”
“The Arroyo regime lets big foreign mining companies siphon out billions of dollars worth of Philippine natural resources to the further detriment of the people’s livelihood and the environment,” Rosal said.
He warned of more attacks against foreign mining operations in other parts of the country.
He said the raid was intentionally timed on a holiday when the mining operation was on a break to ensure that no company worker and employee would be hurt.
No civilian was hurt in the raid, according to Rosal.
Rosal said the communist rebels fired shots at a nearby Army detachment but only to prevent the government forces from coming to the defense of the mining firm.
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