Tatay Julieto alias Commander Boom, Secretary and Finance officer of Guerilla Front 21-B (center) is presented to the local tri-media of Butuan City on Wednesday, April 20 who was captured along with his two comrades by troops of the 402nd Infantry Brigade, 4th Infantry Division headed by Col. Rodrigo Diapana (left) in an encounter with NPAs on April 1, 2011 at Sitio Hebron, Brgy. New Tubigon, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur. Also in photo is Col. Efrain Oropel, Camp Bancasi Commander. (PIA-Caraga)
By Ben O. Tesiorna
Friday, October 7, 2011
THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) replaced the brigade commander assigned in Claver, Surigao del Norte, after rebels attacked and destroyed billions of pesos worth of properties a few days ago.
AFP Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman, Colonel Leopoldo Galon, said 402nd Brigade Commander Colonel Rodrigo Diapana was relieved last Wednesday; and was temporarily replaced by Colonel James Jacob.
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Diapana's relief was ordered by AFP commander-in-chief President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, after failing to prevent the rebel attacks in two mining firms in Surigao.
The AFP said "serious lapses" were committed on the field that allowed for the successful raid of the NPA and the burning of over P3 billion worth of mining equipment.
"We will have to wait for the investigation report, but the fact remains that it happened in his area of responsibility," said AFP chief-of-staff Eduardo Oban Jr.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Nicanor Bartolome earlier also relieved three police officials in the said province.
Relieved were Senior Superintendent Emmanuel Talento, Surigao del Norte police provincial director; Superintendent Rudy Cuyop, Public Safety Battalion commander; and Claver town police chief Senior Inspector Diomedes Cuadra.
Earlier, the PNP admitted there was a “security vacuum” at the time of the attacks, and no government forces were in the area at the time to thwart the “well-planned” rebel operation.
"What we're saying here (is that) we lost our forces in the area, allowing them (rebels) to stage such an elaborate attack," said Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., PNP spokesman.
Superintendent Martin Gamba, Caraga region police spokesman, admitted that, despite intelligence reports the NPA rebels were planning to attack, they did not anticipate that the mining firms would be the target - and chose to beef up police stations instead.
In a statement, National Democratic Front of the Philippines - North Eastern Mindanao Region spokesperson, Maria Malaya, said the attack was in retaliation against the Manuel B. Zamora-led Taganito Mining Corporation (TMC), which the group alleged has "ravaged the area for nearly 30 years."
Malaya added the attack was "in the implementation of the policy of the revolutionary movement related to the protection of the environment and natural resources and the defense of the rights of the Lumad people, peasants, and workers."
"Instead of remitting P400 million in taxes to the [local government], through sheer bribery, the company is now only paying the local government P40 million. It is only right to punish this company," Malaya said.
Around 200 to 300 rebels on Monday attacked Taganito Mining Corporation (TMC) in Claver town, resulting in the destruction of several facilities.
Taganito is a unit of Nickel Asia Corp., which is partly owned by Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd.
Another group of rebels attacked the nearby Platinum Metals Group Corp. also in Claver. Three hours later, another mine site operated by another Taganito company, Taganito HPAL Corporation, was also attacked by rebels.
The attack forced Nickel Asia to suspend its operations indefinitely.
The military, however, said that one of the reasons of the attacks was the company's refusal to pay "revolutionary taxes" to the rebels.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 07, 2011.
