About P4 million worth of railroad lines owned by the Hawaiian Philippines Co., that is being rented and maintained by a group of sugar planters in E.B. Magalona and Silay City , have reportedly been stolen by an organized group of thieves, in the past three years.

Alarmed by the series of theft incidents, officials of the Silay-Sarabia Railway Cooperative yesterday sought the help of Governor Isidro Zayco and Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, provincial police director, to immediately arrest the suspects and file charges against those buying the stolen rails.

Raymond Montinola, vice-chairman of the Silay-Sarabia Railway Cooperative, said the group behind the pilferage even use acetylene torches to cut the rails, and it seems to be highly-organized.

If these activities do not stop, Montinola said, it will lead to dislocation of their workers and an increase of expenses in hauling harvested sugarcane to the mills.

The cooperative has been renting the 56-kilometer HPCO railroad tracks in the areas of E.B. Magalona and Silay City , for use in the transport of sugarcane to sugar mills, for almost six years now.

Three years ago, a policeman and five others were caught in the act of cutting rails in Brgy. San Jose , E.B. Magalona.

Police Chief Inspector Samuel Mina reported yesterday the arrest of three suspects, two of them minors, in Brgy. Tanza, E.B. Magalona, allegedly for theft of the rails.

Mina said four rails were recovered from one of the three arrested suspects identified as Andrew Tiongco,19.

Initial police investigations showed that the rails are being sold to junk shops at P40 a kilo.

Montinola said they were told by Zayco of the need for the passage of an ordinance to discourage buyers of stolen rail lines and their parts, including transmission lines of communication firms.

Franco, who attended the meeting between officials of the cooperative and Zayco, said he will issue a memorandum to all Negros Occidental police chiefs to inspect junkshops in their areas, and to file charges against those buying stolen rails.

In previous months, policemen had been concentrating on the transport of stolen scrap iron and other metals from the Maricalum Mining Company compound in Brgy. San Jose , Sipalay City , not knowing that similar incidents were also happening in E.B. Magalona and Silay City .

Montinola said they have noted an increase in the pilferage of rails since the price of scrap iron went up. “We really mean business to place behind bars not only those engaged in the pilferage but also the buyers”, he added.

On the other hand, Mina said the reward system will be reactivated by the cooperative, in an effort to stop the pilferage of the rails.

Franco said they always expect an increase in crimes against property during “off-milling season” and before the opening of classes every year.

E.B. Magalona Mayor David Albert Lacson who also met the group of Ledesma two weeks ago, said the E.B. Magalona police has already established some leads in the identification of the suspects.

With the weekly increase in prices of petroleum products, Montinola said the use of railway in the transport of sugarcane is the most viable for them, considering that the roads in some areas of Silay and E.B. Magalona are not passable.

Chief Inspector Santiago Rapiz, Station 1 chief of the Bacolod City Police Office, said they are also closely watching big junkshops in Bacolod City that may also be buying the stolen rail lines.*GPB

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