CentCom intensifies monitoring of IEDs

CEBU, Philippines - The Central Command (Central Command) strengthens its monitoring throughout the region following the recovery of at least 40 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Samar last week.

The 87th infantry battalion assigned at Northern Samar seized around 42 IED inside a makeshift landmine factory near the boundary of Barangay Santo Niño and Pagsanjan after an encounter with members of the National People’s Army (NPA) last March 12.

An M16 rifle, an improvised mortar and several machines in making IEDs were recovered by Central Command.

Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, Centcom spokesperson, told The FREEMAN that they considered the items recovered as a threat to the peace and order in the region.  

He said these could have been used by the NPA in its offensive against the government troops.

"The primary purpose of the landmines is to kill and to destroy property and equipment," he said.

The mass production of landmines by the NPA is in violation of a treaty they signed with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.   

Tampus said the landmines can also be used as a tool for terrorism if it will fall into the hands of terrorist groups.

The AFP is also cross-matching evidence they recovered from other blast sites throughout the region to check if the bombs were made by the same group of people.

Tampus said similar makeshift landmine factory were found in Capiz, Negros, and Samar where rebel groups exist. In Central Visayas, Cebu and Bohol were already declared insurgency-free by the AFP.

Claymore landmines, like the ones recovered recently, contain metal balls designed to cause damage to any target, like a shotgun. — Ryan Christopher J. Sorote/JPM (THE FREEMAN)