MANILA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Maoist-led
guerrillas raided a state-owned plantation used for biofuel production
in the central Philippines, the first attack on an alternative energy
investment, an army official said on Thursday.
The rebels left leaflets denouncing the operations of a facility
producing biofuels from cassava and jatropha, a drought-resistant
plant, which competes for crops with food production in the mainly
agricultural Southeast Asian nation.
Communist New People's
Army (NPA) rebels stormed a jatropha plantation on Negros island on
Tuesday, burning equipment and stopping workers from hauling lumber,
Colonel Cesar Yano, a brigade commander on Negros, told reporters.
"The workers were not harmed," Yano said.
The rebels oppose the use of food for energy purposes, targeting the
2-billion peso ($42 million) ethanol project because it would plant
jatropha trees instead of sugarcane and rice, the traditional staple,
Yano said.
Jatropha is considered to be one of the most promising sources of biofuels.
The 10-hectare jatropha plantation in Tamlang valley also sits on what
was a rebel stronghold before troops drove the NPA guerrillas deeper
into the mountains.
The biofuel plantation is a joint venture
between the government and Tamlang Valley Agri Development Corp, a
company formed by a local alcohol firm and a political clan related to
the finance secretary.
The government has a 35 percent stake in the plantation. There was no immediate reaction from the owners.
The Philippines has been promoting the cultivation of crops suited for
biofuels to lessen its dependence on costly imported crude oil. The
country imports nearly all of its crude oil needs.
The rebels
have stepped up attacks on Negros after an army battalion was removed
from the island a month ago and was sent to reinforce troops fighting
Muslim rebels on the southern island of Mindanao, officials said.
Manila has been battling Maoist-led guerrillas active mostly in the
main island of Luzon and in the central Philippines for nearly 40 years
in a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people and stunted
investment in the resource-rich country.
The rebels target
mines, plantations, logging and telephone companies to scare foreign
investors and raise funds.
2012 Carbon Trade Watch
