‘NPA resort raid banditry’
The Philippine Army has called the attack of the New People’s Army on Marugo Mountain Resort in Tapaz, Capiz on December 16 “plain and simple banditry.”
This was the reaction of First Lt. Mark Andrew Posadas, spokesman of the 3rd Infantry Division, after NPA Central Command’s Jose Percival Estocado Jr. admitted over a radio broadcast Monday that they disarmed Dominido Gascon and Edgar Victoriano, the resort’s two guards, whom they claimed to be members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU).
But Posadas contradicted the statement read by NPA spokesman Joey Guerrero, saying both Gascon and Victoriano do not belong to the CAFGU.
In the said statement, Guerrero said they raided the resort because of the alleged abuses of its owner Roberto “Nonong” Palomar on the residents of the area.
Posadas, however, said the rebels attacked the resort to steal food and to terrorize and intimidate the resort owner to give in to their extortion demands.
“Having successfully entered the resort without resistance emboldened them to take the firearms of the security and a policeman, who at that time was enjoying the facilities of the resort,” he said.
Posadas added: “Trying to cover up a criminal act of extortion, trespassing, and theft by creating unbelievable stories that is read through a prepared statement on radio is a very weak attempt at a cover-up.”
During the attack, the rebels took a .30-caliber M1 grand rifle with ten clips of live ammunition and an M16 Armalite rifle with five long and two short magazines loaded with ammunition.
They also seized two pairs of binoculars, six handheld radios, a megaphone, a backpack with assorted fatigue uniforms, and a magazine loaded with .45-caliber ammunition.
The rebels also disarmed Senior Police Officer 3 Isidro Garbosa of Tapaz Police Station, who was at the resort during the raid, of his .9mm-Barreta pistol and two magazines with live ammunition, and also took his mobile phone.*
