Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) burned down a tractor at Hacienda Taborda in Barangay Robles, La Castellana, Negros Occidental, Monday afternoon.

Based on a statement provided to police by the tractor operator, identified as 60-year-old Manuel Jamandre, he was operating in the said area when four men armed with a .45 caliber pistol and KG9 submachine guns approached his vehicle.

The group identified themselves as NPA members and removed Jamandre from the tractor.

The gunmen then opened the fuel tank and set it on fire.

Afterwards, one of the suspects shot his weapon twice in the air, while another threw a fragmentation grenade two meters from the tractor.

Jamandre also said the vehicle is owned by his employer Jorge Vargas.

La Castellana police are presently investigating the incident./DGB, WDJ}098+