Philex denies NPA attack on mining site in Mindanao

OZAMIZ CITY, Philippines—The Philex Mining Corp. said reports indicating that New People’s Army rebels attacked its compound in Compostela Valley “are false.”

“Neither Philex Mining nor its subsidiaries have any exploration or mining activity in the Davao Region,” said Rene Patangan, media affairs relations officer of the company in Surigao del Norte.

On Friday, over a dozen NPA rebels swooped down on the compound of the Philco Mining in Sitio (subvillage of) Tagpura, Barangay (village) Camanlangan, in New Bataan town, Compostela Valley, past 8 p.m. and torched two Elf trucks, two backhoes and a drilling machine, Lieutenant Colonel Lyndon Paniza, spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said.

At almost the same time, about 20 guerrillas also set on fire a Nissan Terrano sports utility vehicle (SUV) owned by an unidentified person at the mining village of Mainit, in nearby Nabunturan town, Paniza said.

Philco Mining is a subsidiary of Australian firm Mining Group Ltd.

According to Rochelle Hilario, communications manager of Philex, the firm’s projects are located at the provinces of Negros Occidental, Surigao del Norte and Zamboanga del Norte.