Communist separatists have cut down 3,157 fully-grown banana palms at a Dole plantation in the southern Philippines, according to local police.
The New People’s Army (NPA) reportedly did the damage with machetes in the early morning on Tuesday, the 41st anniversary of the separatists group’s founding.
Police are conducting an investigation on the attack in Tago town, Surigao del Sur, while local army units are in pursuit, reported the government-run Philippine Information Agency.
The attack follows another in the province last Saturday, when NPA members burned heavy machinery belonging to contractors working for Dole Philippines. Nobody has been reported injured in the two attacks.
The company has been expanding its banana plantations in Surigao del Sur province.
