Libon, Albay, Jan. 9, 1998 - Communist rebels burned a new Philtranco bus on the national highway for failing to pay revolutionary taxes.
Albay police provincial director Supt. Calixto Pamplona said the rebels belonged to the Alfredo de Guzman command operating in East Camarines Sur. They are among the bandit groups which survive by extortion and other criminal activities disguised as revolutionary actions.
Joe Tuplano, bus driver, said four unidentified men boarded his bus and ordered all the passengers to get off. The rebels then handed him a letter with a logo of the Alfredo de Guzman command and signed by a certain Carlo Lucero, stating that the bus was to be burned for refusal of Philtranco management to pay the revolutionary tax.
The armed men set the bus on fire despite pleas from passengers to allow them to retrieve their luggage. Most of the passengers were students returning to Manila after the Christmas vacation.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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