NPA murders, loots 10 soldiers and a minor

By CMO Battalion, 8ID PA
December 15, 2010

CAMP LUKBAN, Catbalogan Samar  –  A lunatic band of about 30 terrorist New People’s Army (NPA) murdered ten (10) soldiers and a 9 year old child and wounded two (2) soldiers at the outskirts of Brgy Sta Fe, Las Navas, Northern Samar, around 3pm, December 14.

Colonel Oscar Lopez, the commanding officer of the Army’s 803rd Infantry Brigade based in Catarman, Northern Samar disclosed that the troops of 63rd Infantry Battalion were on their way back to patrol base in observance of ceasefire and peace talk with the CPP-NPA-NDF when communist terrorists encountered the troops.

Two (2) soldiers were severely wounded whose rifles were damaged in a 30-minute engagement and played dead when NPA searched and looted the dead bodies of their personal belongings.

Similar incident occurred last August 21 in Barangay Imelda, Cataman of the same province where eight (8) dead police officers were stripped off their personal belongings and recently on December 8, NPA treacherously killed two (2) civilians one of them is a 15-year old boy and wounding two (2) others while the victims are helplessly on board a motorized banca.  These merciless and barbaric acts of the NPA are being done in the pursuance of their so called revolutionary agenda.

Killing hopeless civilians and looting victims of their personal belongings are the trademarks of NPA who claim to uphold human rights and democracy. In Part IV, Article 2.1 of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) states that “civilians or those taking no active part in the hostilities” shall not be subjected for violence, particularly killing or causing injury as stipulated in Part IV, Article 3.1.

It has been observed that the NPA vehemently abused and disrespected the CARHIHL and passionately violating our people’s right to live.

The Philippine Army particularly the 8th Infantry Division respects the pronouncement of the National Democratic Front’s (NDF) demand for peace talk.  For the sake of peace, troops marches off to barracks to observe the government’s declaration of suspension of military operations (SOMO) for the Yuletide seasons and in compliance to the directives from the higher headquarters.

SOMO will further give time for our soldiers to be with their families whom they parted for a long period of time due to service as well as for the NPA to re-unite with their families while celebrating the meaningful time of Christmas and New Year.