Communist rebels torched heavy equipment used in road construction in the eastern Philippines after a town mayor refused to pay extortion money, a regional military spokesman said Saturday, according to dpa. Army Major Randolph Cabangbang said the attack occurred late Wednesday in a village in San Francisco town in Quezon province, 120 kilometres south-east of Manila. Cabangbang said about 20 rebels burned one compactor, one grader and a bunkhouse owned by San Francisco town Mayor Nani Tan. "Once again the rebels demonstrate their desperation to extort money at the expense of people who would have benefited from (the) project," Cabangbang said. "They are anti-development and they should be blamed for the regression of communities they continuously terrorize." Last week, the communist rebels declared a four-day truce, from December 24 and 25 and from December 31 to January 1, in offensives against Philippine troops in observance of the holiday season. The guerrillas have rejected an appeal by the government to reciprocate the 22-day ceasefire it declared earlier in the month. Instead, they vowed to intensify attacks against government forces.