At least 100 heavily armed men believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels burned P30 million worth of heavy equipment of a logging company in Sitio Monte Alto in Echague, Isabela, Friday.

Echague police said the armed men burned two logging trucks and five bulldozers in yard of the Monte Alto Logging Company.

The logging company’s workers were heavily guarded to prevent them from reporting their presence to government authorities while the trucks and bulldozers were burning.

Police and members of the military chased the armed men after learning of the incident but the suspected rebels divided into several groups to avoid encountering government forces.

According to police, the logging company had been threatened by communist rebels to stop cutting trees in the province. The rebels claimed the people wanted to put a stop to logging in the province.

Monte Alto is one of three logging firms granted permits by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to operate in the province for five years.

However, the provincial and municipal governments, and several groups in the private sector, opposed logging in Isabela.

The Sierra Madre and Cordillera mountain ranges are one of the few remaining watershed areas in Northern Luzon that provide abundant water supply to most lowland communities.

The Monte Alto Logging Company started operations on January 2010 within the 848-hectare mountain area covering the towns of Echague, Jones, and San Guillermo, all in Isabela province.