MANILA, March 28 (Reuters) - Philippine communist guerrillas vowed on Friday to step up attacks on mine sites, plantations and logging companies, saying they were detrimental to the interests of the people. The Maoist-led New People's Army (NPA), waging one of the world's longest-running communist insurgencies, also threatened to intensify "tactical offensives", or attacks on military and police units, to stock up on weapons. "The main purpose of intensifying the tactical offensives is to seize weapons and increase the number of Red fighters and fighting units of the NPA," said a rebel statement on the eve of the 39th anniversary of the NPA's founding. "Certain enterprises (mines, plantations, loggings, etc) and certain installations are targeted by the NPA because these are detrimental to the interests of the people. "By attacking these, the NPA compels the enemy to deploy guard units at separate places, each one of which is vulnerable to further offensive actions by the NPA." Since the start of the year, NPA rebels have attacked at least three mining sites on the southern island of Mindanao and on Masbate island in the central Philippines. No one has been hurt, but the insurgents have torched equipment and installations. In response, the government has set up a special military unit to guard mines, plantations and power transmission lines on Mindanao, the location for much of the Philippines' mineral wealth. The military dismissed the rebel anniversary statement as propaganda, saying the government's campaign, including medical missions and infrastructure projects, was effective in diminishing the communist influence in the countryside. "By the end of March, we'll be coming out with results of our first quarter accomplishments. It will show that more guerrilla fronts were dismantled and their numbers continued to decline," said army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Bartolome Bacarro. The army claims to have dismantled 13 rebel bases in 2007, reducing the number of communist guerrillas from 7,000 to a little over 5,700 fighters, the lowest-ever level in the nearly 40 years of conflict that has killed 40,000 people. On Friday, the police went on full alert, anticipating rebel attacks to mark the NPA anniversary. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Alex Richardson)
A farmer harvests rice stalks in Carigara, in the province of Leyte, central Philippines March 22, 2008. For Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, already battling a corruption scandal, the price of ...
