NPA rebels accuse military of spying with drone

By William B Depasupil/Manila Times

The New People’s Army (NPA) yesterday accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of spying by using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone, which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had also recently used in its alleged anti-logging aerial reconnaissance.

“The NPA maintains that the DENR/Skyeye’s anti-logging aerial reconnaissance is merely a pretext to intensify imperialist mining plunder and counter-revolutionary intelligence in southern Mindanao. The motives of Skyeye’s reconnaissance are suspicious, considering that Maco is not a hotspot for logging as its forests are largely denuded and its mountains mainly mineral-rich,” said Daniel Ibarra, spokesperson, NPA.

But the AFP, through spokesman Lt Col Ramon Zagala, said that the NPA’s allegation was a delusion of grandeur, falsely believing that the military is spying on them.

“It was paranoia on the part of the NPA for believing that the civilians were using the UAV for intelligence surveillance while even calling them as instruments of mass genocide and civil destruction,” Zagala said.

He also explained that a UAV is not a spying equipment alone but can also be used for other services supporting development such as what the DENR did.

“They used an unmanned aerial vehicle for anti-logging aerial reconnaissance and not for intelligence surveillance,” Zagala added.

Zagala said it was not the first time the NPAs abducted civilians in Compostela Valley. Last month, NPA’s Guerilla Front 2 and Pulang Bagani Command 6 members took 39 civilians as human shields in Barangay Golden Valley in Mabini town.

Meanwhile, DENR thanked Duterte for the unconditional release of the surveyors and driver.

“On behalf of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, our sincerest thanks to Mayor Duterte for his help in freeing the Skyeye personnel without any conditions,” Paje said.

He stressed that the agency is using state-of-art technology to ensure transparency in NGP.

“Using this technology will prevent the occurrence of ghost sites/projects and ensure that investment of government will be protected. It will also ensure accountability of DENR officials in the field,” Paje said.