NPA raids road project site, burns heavy equipment

NPA raids road project site, burns heavy equipment

Quickly following on my last entry, I have to add this news item which gives the story of a totally different approach to "protesting" foreign investments in the Philippines:

1) While the earlier report pictures an absolutely peaceful and peaceable protest against local government officials, or Chinese involvement in small scale mining, this news report confirms a recent pattern of destructive/coercive protest against a Chinese-led investment project.

2) Church leaders, in the first report, are trying to mobilize public support for its action. But in the instant report, the NPA appears to be pursuing a scorched earth strategy, consistent with its earlier actions.

3) I think it is obvious that using ideologically-motivated violence as a protest tool will not likely induce any change to the State's foreign investment policy. But the first story also hints at the frustrations and local difficulties involved in realizing legitimate protest.