Incident Summary:
12/02/2010: On Thursday evening around 1930, in Pateng village in Gonzaga, Cagayan, Philippines, around 20 militants, led by a woman, torched a warehouse, backhoe, a loader and two generator sets belonging to a magnetite mining company. The group then seized two shotguns of the firm’s security personnel. The personnel quarters of Unimaster Conglomeration Inc. was also set ablaze. No casualties were reported in the attack and the estimated damage was P5 million (115,393 USD). Charges were brought against Allan Rey Balanay, Rolando Igis alias Saro, Jonathan Sandaga alias Ian and his wife Mylene Salvador alias Maymay, as well as 16 other John Does. All 20 are alleged members of the NPA’s Henry Abraham Command (NPA-HAC) of the Northern Front Committee operating in northern Cagayan. The NPA-HAC, through its spokesman Arnel Sandoval, admitted to the arson. On its website, the group said it torched the warehouse and equipment as punitive action against the firm’s alleged exploitation of natural resources in the village. It also alleged that the UCI owner supported the election campaign of Mayor Carlito Pentecostes Jr., whom the rebels claimed was a warlord. The rebel spokesman said that UCI’s continuous quarrying of black sand was contributing to the rapid siltation of the Wangag river, which causes its banks to overflow during rains.
Overview
GTD ID:
201012020014
When:
2010-12-02
Country:
Philippines
Region:
Southeast Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Cagayan
City:
Pateng
Location Details:
The incident occurred in the village of Pateng in Gonzaga, Cagayan, Philippines.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Facility/Infrastructure Attack |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Business |
Name of Entity |
Unimaster Conglomeration Inc. |
Specific Description |
Equipment belonging to Unimaster Conglomeration Inc. magnetite mining company was targeted in the attack. |
Nationality of Target |
Philippines |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
$115,393.00 |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Incendiary |
Arson/Fire |
Weapon Details |
An unknown incendiary device was used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Group Sub-name |
Claimed Responsibility |
New People's Army (NPA) |
Henry Abraham Command |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Posted to website, blog, etc.) |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
20 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
20 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Melvin Gascon, “Armed Men Torch Mining Equipment in Cagayan,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 3, 2010, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20101203-306786/Armed-men-torch-mining-equipment-in-Cagayan. |
GMA News, "Suspected Rebels Attack Quarrying Firm in Cagayan," http://www.gmanews.tv/story/207468/suspected-rebels-attack-quarrying-firm-in-cagayan (December 3, 2010). |
GMA News, "Rebs Face Arson Raps for Torching Quarry Equipment in Cagayan," http://www.gmanews.tv/story/208533/rebs-face-arson-raps-for-torching-quarry-equipment-in-cagayan (December 17, 2010). |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties