Manila (dpa) – Suspected communist rebels on Wednesday shot dead a Swiss-Filipino businessman in the southern Philippines for allegedly refusing to pay protection money and for supporting the military's campaign against the guerrillas, the military said. Patrick Wineger, a naturalized Filipino of Swiss descent, was in the public market in Kidapawan City, 960 kilometers south of Manila, when two gunmen opened fire on him, said Lieutenant Colonel Leopoldo Galon, a regional military spokesman. The gunmen were believed to be communist rebel assassins who targeted Wineger for his refusal to pay “revolutionary taxes” for protection of his rubber plantation in nearby Makilala town, Galon said. “He is also very supportive of the military's security operations,” Galon said. “He was a military partner. That's why he had been prioritizing former rebels who have surrendered for employment at his rubber plantation.” Communist rebels have in the past killed military supporters and attacked companies and businessmen who refused to pay “revolutionary taxes,” a key source of funds for their activities. The guerrillas have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Xq6ql Tags: Businessman, Communist, Killing, Philippines, Rebels Section: East Asia, Latest News
