Armed men burn facilities at Dole Philippines banana farm, report says
Armed men last week reportedly set ablaze facilities in a Filipino banana plantation owned by Dole, according to local media The Manila Bulletin.
The publication reported men armed with automatic rifles and handguns arrived at 12:20 a.m. on Friday, and proceeded to burn the portable processors and buildings of the banana farm in the northern Mindanao region.
The perpetrators immediately fled and no one was harmed among the workers of Dole Philippines, it said. The company is still assessing the damage.
“We cannot still determine as of this time the identities of the perpetrators or group doing this terroristic act and even the motive of this incident,” Civil Military Operations officer Capt. Norman Tagros told The Manila Bulletin.
However, he said there are bandits, extortionists and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels known to operate in the area who have harassed business and locals in the past.
“We cannot still determine the real motive and identities of the arsonists on pre-dawn attack on Friday,” he was quoted as saying.
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