Banana producers and traders said Monday members of the New People’s Army continue to harass them despite the ongoing peace talks between the government and the communist rebels.
Businessmen said rebels were asking money ranging from P5,000 to as high as P5 million a month from agricultural plantations, private contractors, quarrying operators, public market stallholders and smalltime entrepreneurs.
The businessmen, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the biggest adverse impact of revolutionary taxes, apart from the unchecked government red tape and corruption, would be on foreign investors invited by President Rodrigo Duterte to do business in the Philippines.
“Now the business community would logically wished that the administration find solutions to this worsening scenario in the countryside,” the businessmen said.
Worried businessmen said they were concerned what the peace talk could really mean to their businesses because the rebels were reportedly taking advantage of the government’s unilateral cease fire.
Big banana plantations have been seeking government support in fighting extortionists from the communist rebels who were demanding revolutionary taxes.
Dole- Stanfilco, a multinational banana firm operating in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur earlier shut down its operations indefinitely after it was subjected to a series of attacks by the NPA for refusing to pay revolutionary taxes.
The firm’s decision expectedly resulted in loss of jobs in the area.
“If we pay, we will lose our shirts and would be forced to close shop. If we refuse to pay, our lives and those of our family members will be in danger,” said a businessman in Toril, Davao City.
The businessmen claimed that groups identifying themselves as NPA rebels were asking “commission” ranging from five percent to 10 percent from private contractors doing multi-million-peso projects for the government and private companies.
Businessmen said in some provinces of Mindanao, the extortionists even demanded revolutionary taxes from barangay captains and municipal mayors and councilors. Among the hardest hit are banana plantations, big transportation companies operating passenger buses and contractors.
Banana is one of the country’s top agricultural exports, second only to coconut oil. The Philippines is also the second largest banana exporter in the world, making the banana industry a consistent top dollar earner.
The banana plantations in Mindanao cover about 83,000 hectares and are estimated to employ more than 330,000 workers supporting a total of two million people.
Banana stakeholders warned that the insurgency situation in Mindanao could stop further expansion of the plantations.