NPA's P5,000 payment to Davao blast victims hit

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Alexander Padilla, head of the government panel negotiating with communist rebels, criticized the New People’s Army’s (NPA) payment of P5,000 to each of the 48 victims of the grenade blast in Barangay Fatima, Paquibato district here.

The National Democratic Front (NDF) ordered the NPA’s Merardo Arce Command to indemnify the blast victims after they owned up and apologized for the incident and blamed the Pulang Bagani Command for the “mistake.”

“It is stopgap measure and clouding the issue of violation of international humanitarian law and Philippine law. Targeting a military site, the Sept. 1 NPA attack instead caused injury to 48 civilians,” Padilla said.

Padilla said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA’s refusal to turn over the perpetrators of the attack to the authorities and be subject to due process “adds insult to injury.”

The Davao City police has filed charges of frustrated murder against Leoncio Pitao, alias Commander Parago, leader of the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command; his son Ryan; and seven others for the grenade blast.

Merardo Arce Command spokesman Rigoberto Sanchez said those responsible for the attack will be dealt with according to the CPP-NPA’s “revolutionary justice.”

However, Padilla said the CPP-NPA-NDF’s “revolutionary justice” was described as a “sham” by many, including United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston in a Report in 2008.

Padilla said there have been countless civilians who are victims of collateral damage in over four decades of the communist insurgency.

“Why has indemnification been raised only now? For so long as the CPP-NPA pursues armed struggle as the primary means to achieve its goals, there will continue to be civilians caught in the crossfire. Will they join the ranks of tens of thousands of unnamed and uncompensated civilian victims?” Padilla asked.