COL. DELLOSA |
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Politicians
are warned by 302nd Infantry Brigade commander Col.
Jesse Dellosa to refrain from giving in to extortion
activities of communist rebels during the campaign period
for the coming May polls.
During
the weekly radio program of Gov. Erico Aumentado, "The
Governor Reports," Dellosa said giving money to
the New People's Army (NPA) will only render the already
thinned-out
insurgents a chance to regroup and recruit.
Reports of recent rebel sightings rise with the recent
February 3 encounter in barangays Aloha, Behind the
Clouds and Rizal of Batuan town where an army scout
ranger was killed in action and two others were seriously
wounded.
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According
to Dellosa, only 15 to 20 NPA's are left operating in the
hinterlands of Bohol which is part of the Island Security
Command of the NPA.
The small band is reportedly led by Domingo Compoc alyas "Cobra",
according to the 302nd IB commander.
REACTIVATED
FOR POLLS
During
the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting last
Monday, Dellosa said the "extortion" activities
will escalate as the campaign period draws near.
Their
"extortion" spree, extracting fees from candidates
for "permit-to-campaign" (PTC) is expected to be
launched in areas they consider their controlled territory
in the hinterlands.
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DellOsa
said that probably the rebels would just want to reinforce
the "waning" Bohol insurgents. His assessment
on the rebel reinforcement is based on the documents
recovered from the site of the latest encounter.
One
of the recovered items left behind by the rebels was
a stationery marked "Evelyn Dublin Command"
in Leyte, which confirmed that the reinforcement was
coming from Leyte. And this group could be a striking
force of the rebels in the entire Visayas.
He called on businessmen and those running for elective
posts in May to refrain from giving "revolutionary
taxes" or PTC fees to the rebel movement as this
would help sustain the movement.
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For
years now, it is a public knowledge that some businesses in
the province have been handing "financial" aid to
the movement for fear of retaliation if they don't cooperate.
It
maybe recalled that in 1998 elections, the brand new car of
Sagbayan Mayor Jimmy Torrefranca was torched by rebels while
the campaign was going on for failure to give PTC fee.
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