AFP welcomes government plan to include NPA extortion in talks

MANILA, Philippines - The military welcomed yesterday the plan of the government peace panel to raise the issue of “revolutionary taxes” during talks with communist rebels.

Maj. Eugenio Osias IV, Army 4th Division spokesman, said discussion of extortion activities of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the peace talks would benefit investors, especially those being forced to support the rebels.

“We welcome the announcement (that the extortion issue would be raised during the talks),” he said. “Extortion is illegal and is a criminal activity. We want to stop this. They should stop that criminal activity. That will be a sign of goodwill for the peace talks... But we hope this would not derail the peace talks.”

Osias said extortionists would drive away investors and could jeopardize efforts to jumpstart development in the countryside. 

“People will suffer if they lose their jobs,” he said.

“If poverty worsens, the rebels will step up their recruitment activities.”

Osias said seven local and foreign mining firms had threatened to pull out from the Caraga region due to the NPA’s extortion activities. Caraga consists of the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands.

Investors can no longer comply with the NPA’s “revolutionary tax,” which has been raised from P15 million to P20 million a year.

Alexander Padilla, government panel chairman, had vowed to raise the issue of revolutionary taxes during the start of the talks tentatively set in Oslo, Norway on Feb. 19-25.

Military data showed that the NPA earned more than P136 million from their extortion activities last year.

The figure for 2009 is more than double the P61 million raised by the insurgents in 2008.