Lt. Col. Victorino Seño, 1002nd Infantry Brigade deputy chief for administration based in Malungon, Sarangani, said they will have to validate the information revealed by Escobillo.
The resource-rich Tampakan town has become a flashpoint for NPA attacks.
On New Year’s Day 2008, NPA rebels stormed and burned the basecamp of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) in Barangay Tablu. The attack destroyed facilities worth at least P12 million. The rebels also took several firearms assigned to the firm’s private security guards.
In January 2009, communist guerillas also attacked the municipal police station in Poblacion, Tampakan, about 15 kilometers away from this city. Three policemen were wounded in the attack.
Recently, Escobillo said that SMI is keen on pushing the Tampakan project into the commercial production phase.[]
The Tampakan local government has endorsed the mining venture when SMI relaunched the project in the early 2000 after acquiring it from Australian firm Western Mining Corp., which originally discovered the mammoth deposits.[]
