4 NPA Extortionists Wounded in Clash with 73IB

Four (4) New People’s Army (NPA) bandits under alias Ron-Ron of the Alex Ababa Gang which has been threatening the people living in the hinterlands of Alabel and Malapatan, both of Sarangani Province and parts of Davao del Sur, were seriously wounded after two series of gun battles with Army troopers of 73rd Infantry Battalion (73IB) at Bgy Little Baguio, Malita, Davao del Sur last Feb 20 and 22. Nobody was hurt among the troopers.

During the first engagement, the wounded gangsters escaped towards forested area but were engaged again after troops utilized bloodhound K-9 dogs to track them down through the blood stains seen along the trails. Troops of 73IB and 39IB under the operational supervision of 1002nd Bde continue to track them down as of this report.
Responding to information provided by political candidates that they have received extortion demands from communist bandits in the form of permit-to-campaign (PTC) and permit-to-win (PTW) fees, troops of 73IB visited far-flung barangays in an effort to verify the reports. A local candidate who yielded to their demand reportedly provided combat boots and foodstuffs to the bandits in return for the candidate’s being allowed to campaign in the hinterlands. The encounter transpired right after the rebels received the items. The local terrorists extort money or material from political aspirants in the form of PTC and PTW fees. With PTC, NPA bandits allow candidates to roam around what they claim to be their controlled territories. With PTW, on the other hand, bandits assure political candidates of votes from upland people. These bandits intimidate the voters and dictate upon them to vote only those who paid permit-to-win fee.

In a statement, 73IB Commander LTCol Edgardo De Leon said, “We will not allow the NPA gangsters to disturb the free exercise of suffrage in our area of responsibility. We will continue to protect the democratic rights of the people to choose their leader and vote freely. We also would like to encourage candidates not to be afraid in reporting extortion demands coming from the bandits. The money or material support they would give them would just contribute to the continuing existence of communist terrorism in our country”.