'NPA' men burn 2 buses in Pangasinan

MANILA, Philippines — At least two men claiming to be New People's Army (NPA) rebels torched two new buses at a terminal in San Fabian town in Pangasinan province Thursday night, dzRH radio reported early Friday. But police are not discounting a labor dispute behind the incident, where two new "Five-Star" air-conditioned buses worth P25 million were destroyed, said the report. Preliminary investigation showed that the two men waited for all passengers from the last trip to disembark at the Five-Star bus company’s terminal in San Fabian striking. The men, armed with cal-.45 pistols, disarmed the lone security guard and warned everyone in the terminal to get away as far as possible to avoid getting hurt. "Walang papalag, umalis kayo para di madamay (Don't resist us. Just leave if you don't want to get hurt)," witnesses recalled the men saying after they claimed to be NPAs. The men then set fire to the two buses and fled toward an unknown destination. NPA rebels have a long history of burning passenger buses and equipment or buildings belonging to companies who refuse to pay “revolutionary taxes." But investigators in San Fabian said they are looking into labor dispute as the motive of the bus burnings, noting that management and employees had been at odds in past weeks due to recent layoffs. - GMANews.TV