BY JERRY ALCAYDE
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CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro – The chief of the Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has warned private construction firms that they will face legal sanctions under the new anti-terrorism law if it will be proven that they are giving revolutionary tax or protection money to the New People’s Army (NPA).
Lieutenant General Antonio G. Parlade Jr., Joint Forces Commander of AFP’s Southern Luzon Command based in Lucena City said they have unearthed a “centralized collection scheme” among the contractors themselves who were allegedly giving revolutionary tax to the NPAs operating in Mindoro.
“Some of them have been voluntarily giving money to the NPA extortionists. And see what happened to the government projects? The thickness of the road and quality of the bridge projects are substandard. The government and the people are shortchanged,” Lt. Gen. Parlade said during a recent teleconference with a government media group facilitated by the Philippine Information Agency-MIMAROPA (Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan).
Lt. Gen. Parlade said the contractors should study the contents of Anti-terrorism Act of 2020 which was signed into law by President Duterte last July 3 which contained, among others, provisions on liabilities of persons who provide material support to any terrorist individual or organization, association or group of persons.
Parlade said the security sector particularly the AFP has now set up outposts near the infrastructure projects of the government in far-flung barangays so that contractors could no longer be harassed by the NPA.
