PANACAN, Davao City (11 October) -- The New People's Army has deepened its extortion activities through an extensive collection from businessmen.

Reports received by the 5th CRG say that the rebels have been demanding 50 percent from the profit of the businessmen. Aside from that, they are also collecting P1.00 per head every month from poor barrio households to pay the salaries of the rebels.

Recently, the NPA rebels demanded P3M from a mayor in Agusan del Sur while NPA guerillas burned down two packaging plants and chopped down 7 hectares of bananas here in Davao City after the owners refused to pay the extortion demanded by the NPA's. These incidents caused a damage of about P4M and left out 300 people jobless.

The NPA also burned a Weena bus in Brgy. Malasila, Makilala, Cotabato and lobbed a grenade at a mobile phone store in Kidapawan City for the same reason. Maj Jose Maria R Cuerpo II, 5th CRG commander said that the NPA bluntly violate the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) who represents the NPA.

Cuerpo said that the CARHRIHL seeks to guarantee the protection of the human rights to all Filipinos under all circumstances, especially the workers, peasants and other poor people.

"The intensified extortion activities of the NPA clearly disregard the agreement making the lives of the Filipino people miserable," Cuerpo said.

On the other hand, Father Romeo Intengan, chairman of the Partido ng Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas condemned the non-stop extortion activities of the communist rebels who indulged the masses in their list of milking cows.