THE NEW PEOPLE’S Army (NPA) temporarily paralyzed the destructive operations of two large mining companies last August in Las Nieves, Agu­san del Nor­te and San Ma­teo, Rizal.

An NPA unit torched a dredger (barge used in mining black sand and other minerals from the Agusan River) in Pu­rok 1-B, Ba­ra­ngay Li­nga­yao, Las Nieves in the evening of August 24. Upon boarding the dredger docked off shore, Red fighters ordered four crew members including the captain, to disembark. They confiscated a shotgun from its security guard before burning down the dredger. The said dredger is owned by the Ark Gre­en Dyna­mic Re­so­urces Cor­po­ra­ti­on. Its operation is destructive to the Agusan River. The said corporation also dumps its mining waste products back to the Agusan River.Meanwhile, the NPA-Rizal paralyzed on August 12 the machinery of Mon­te Rock Cor­po­ra­ti­on, a company involved in destructive quarrying operations in Ba­ra­ngay Guit­nang Ba­yan 2, San Ma­teo, Rizal. According to the NPA-Rizal, the two-hour raid seeks to punish the company which has been quarrying for years in mountainous areas in Rizal. Its operation has resulted in uncontrollable flooding not only in San Mateo but Marikina City and Metro Manila, as well. The raid was launched after the flooding in San Mateo due to Typhoon Karding.The NPA paralyzed six dump trucks, two bulldozers, two payloaders, four backhoes, four vans and various office equipment. They also disarmed the security guards of the company. Two shotguns, three .38 caliber pistols, and five handheld radios were seized.