Palace brands Lamitan bombing a ‘war crime’

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday condemned as a terrorist attack the bombing at a military checkpoint in Lamitan City in Basilan that killed 11 people, including a child and three women.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the latest terrorist attack in Basilan perpetrated in violation of our laws,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said.  

“Authorities are now investigating the incident even as we vow to bring the perpetrators of this brazen attack (to justice),” he added.

Roque, a lawyer, noted that the attackers may have violated Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity and the IHL of 2009 when they attacked civilians.

“We note that even in times of war, the attack constitutes a war crime because it constitutes an indiscriminate attack, which is prohibited by Article 4C-1 Attacks on Civilian, by RA 9851, IHL Act of 2009,” he said.

Roque noted that Basilan is an area of non-international armed conflict so an attack against the civilian populace is a violation of the law.

“It’s an indiscriminate attack. It’s a fact that Basilan is an area with a non-international armed conflict and there is already a domestic law on (IHL),” he said.

“Under IHL, you must limit your attacks pursuant to military objectives; you must limit it to military targets and you must avoid protected individuals including civilians,” he said.

“Civilians are protected against attack, unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities. State practice establishes this rule as a norm of customary international law applicable in both international and non-international armed conflicts,” Roque said.

He explained that President Duterte’s statement last week asking the Abu Sayyaf group to return to the fold of the law is addressed to individual fighters. 

Roque also refused to tag the bandits as the attackers, saying the case is still under investigation. 

“I clarified that the President is enjoining individual fighters of the Abu Sayyaf to surrender because they can still be accommodated as surrenderees in the same way that we are accepting surrenderees from the (New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front),” he said.

Roque also doused statements that the attack could be an affront to the government, especially since the government, including Duterte, joined the intelligence community in marking the 60th founding anniversary of the National Security Council and the 69th year of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency yesterday.

“I do not know if it’s an insult; it shouldn’t have happened. It’s illegal use of force, even in times of armed conflicts. IHL as a legal system predates even the establishment of modern day republics,” he said.