Palparan wages new kind of 'war' in Central Luzon

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines - After leading an aggressive anti-insurgency campaign in Central Luzon in 2006, retired Army General Jovito Palparan is now engaged in another kind of war, this time with an official of a mining company who filed cases against the retired general. The word war between Palparan and Danny Ong, project manager of Ore Asia Mining and Development Corporation (Ore Asia) in Doña Remedios Trinidad, came after the company reportedly blocked a road leading to a mining site, leaving Palparan's men hungry. "We are considering to file harassment charges against them," Palparan said. He filed his counter-affidavit last week before the provincial prosecutor's office in Bulacan where he was charged with robbery, grave coercion and trespassing. The case stemmed from the alleged illegal entry of Palparan and some 150-armed men inside Ore Asia's facilities in the village of Camachin in Doña Remedios Trinidad on April 12. Palparan said the checkpoint established by Ore Asia and the Multi-Modal Security Agency on the road leading to the 442-hectare iron ore mining site was illegal because. Ong, however, said there was nothing wrong with it, saying it was not a checkpoint, "because that's a private property." Palparan insisted that the road has been used by residents for a long time and was even developed and widened by another mining firm. Ong showed a copy of a land title and lease agreement he signed with Liberator Sembrano, the lot owner and the town's vice mayor. - GMANews.TV