He’s definitely grateful to telcos: NPA spokesman Ka Diego at a press conference.
The accuracy of this estimate is bolstered by data reported in a study on the armed conflict in Bicol published way back in 2006 by the economic think-tank Philippine Institute of Development Studies. The study reported that in the Bicol provinces, the NPA had been demanding “P50,000 to P200,000 as yearly tax per site, and as much as P500,000 for a newly set up cell site.”