'Rebels' using e-mail, text to extort from politicians

Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command commander Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna yesterday confirmed the "high-tech" activities of alleged rebel groups in collecting "permit to campaign" fees from politicians -through e-mail.

Luna said incumbent officials seeking reelection, and even neophyte politicians, have started raising this concern to his office already.

"Confidentially, yes, we are receiving several complaints from them," Luna said, adding that the method of extorting money from politicians now has been done through the Internet, or via text messages through cellular phones.

There are still those using the old method of approaching politicians and demand money, or in kind, to their faces, the general said, without revealing how much is usually demanded.

Luna said the Army's intelligence department has been processing these complaints and verifying if these demands come from legitimate members of the communist group or mere extortionists.

He also said that, so far, there has been no order of deployment of the military to areas of concern for the election season that the Philippine National Police had already identified but the soldiers are ready to act if the need arises.

Luna further announced that the military has been confident to say that the insurgency problem in Bohol and Cebu provinces, especially in the latter's mid-north area, had decreased by between 50 to 70 percent from its peak five years ago.

The military has been gaining ground also in Panay Island but in Negros Oriental, or in the whole Negros Island, Luna said the situation has not changed yet and that the activities of the rebels there continue to be prominent. - Ferliza C. Contratista/RAE