Army condemns the use of land mines

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.