Army condemns the use of land mines
By DPAO, 8ID PA
May 9, 2012
CAMP LUKBAN, Catbalogan, Samar – The 8ID is calling on the public
and the members of the civil society to join this command in
condemning the continued use of Landmines by the New People’s Army.
BGen Gerardo T Layug AFP, the Commanding General of the 8ID, PA, said
that the use of landmines is a violation of the Republic Act 9851
(Crime Against International Law). This is also a clear violation of
the paragraph 15, Article II of the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. It is
prohibited because such attack will cause incidental loss of life or
injury to civilians. “I call on everyone to condemn this senseless
act of violence against our troops and our people”, Layug said.
Last 14 December 2010, the local NPA launched a landmine attack at
vicinity Brgy Sta Fe and Brgy Perez both of Catubig, Northern Samar
against the elements of 63rd IB which resulted to the death of
military troops and a nine-year-old boy. Recently, the NPA also used
landmines against our troops in Brgy Antipolo, Llorente, Eastern Samar
and Brgy Nago-Ocan, Catubig, Northern Samar.
In other areas, NPA rebels employed landmines during an attack against
the operating elements of 71st Infantry Battalion at Sitio Linaw,
Barangay Panamin, Mabini town, Compostella Valley last April 28, 2012,
killing one soldier and wounding seven civilians. Likewise, similar
incident also happened last February 27, 2012 in the remote area of
said place. Early this year an elderly woman died during a landmine
explosion in CARAGA region and during the previous year another
civilian was also killed due to landmine explosion at Maco,
Compostella Valley.
It may also be recalled that in the early morning of March 5, 2012,
the 8ID troops seized forty-four (44) improvised landmines and
production paraphernalias in an NPA explosive factory in the
hinterlands of the Municipality of Paranas, Samar. All of these only
proves the NPA’s tenacity to use landmines in complete disregard of
the safety of the innocent civilians. The Human Rights Office is
already preparing to file criminal charges against the NPA rebels for
these blatant violations of IHL provisions.