A cafgu was killed after members of the New People’s Army (NPA) attacked the security team in Barangay Lindoy in Tago, Surigao del Sur on Tuesday.
Capt. Francisco Garello Jr., the civil-military operations officer of 36th IB, the team was attacked by more or less three communist guerillas believed to be members of Platoon 8, Guerrilla Front 19B, NERMC, under alias Adel.
Garello said the government militias, led by SSg. Danilo G. Balandang, were providing area security to the elements of 36th IB as they were installing a water pump for the Lindoy Farmers Association under the Project kaPALAYapaan.
They were then attacked by the NPAs resulting in the death of CAA Reymond L. Besinga, a resident of Barangay Bajao, Tago, Surigao del Sur.
The installation of the water pump for the community was part of the military’s assistance to the farmers of Lindoy.
He said the project was temporarily halted while the military secured the area and launched pursuit operations against the rebels.
The KaPALAYapaan is being piloted-tested in Barangay Lindoy to address the high cost, low yield of rice farmers.
The said project promotes organic farming method and introduces new farming techniques for bountiful harvest.
“I condemn the attack on the community,” Lt. Col. Xerxes A. Trinidad, commander of the 36th IB said, adding that the attack only proves that the NPA is against development He said the rebels “wanted the farmers to remain poor so that they can use it as an issue to agitate them and eventually recruit them in their terrorist organization.”
It can be recalled that in the year 2016 to 2017, the NPAs burned container vans and destroyed banana plantations in Tago.
“I call upon the peace-loving community of Brgy. Lindoy, the local officials of Tago, and all stakeholders of peace and development in the province of Surigao del Sur to take action and condemn these treacherous and anti-development actions of the communist-NPA terrorists in our community,” he added.
