NPA landmine wounds 7 soldiers

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – At least seven soldiers were wounded when a landmine planted by suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels exploded before dawn yesterday in Barangay Napnapan, Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

The wounded soldiers were airlifted by Philippine Air Force helicopters to the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) hospital at Camp Panacan here.

The soldiers, who reportedly belong to the peace and development team of the Army’s 28th Infantry Battalion, were on their way to a nearby barangay when the landmine went off.

“Our soldiers were taking advantage of the dark for them to reach another place but it turned out that the rebels were also watching our moves,” said Lt. Col. Francisco Lorenzo, 28th IB commander.

Lorenzo said the incident was another gross violation of the NPA of the international law totally banning the use of landmines.

In Makilala, North Cobatato, meanwhile, last Sunday’s attack by NPA guerrillas on a rubber plantation has destroyed P20 million worth of raw materials and left some 700 workers jobless.

The rebels burned down the processing plant of the Standard Rubber Development Corp. in Barangay Talun-Talunan, Makilala town, and also set off a roadside bomb, killing a worker and wounding two others who rushed to the factory to check what they thought was an accidental fire.

The municipal peace and order council said the incident left local officials at a loss on how to help hundreds of rubber farm workers displaced by the NPA attack.

“The rubber processing plant that the NPA rebels burned provided people in Talun-Talunan with livelihood. With the plant gone, where will the farm workers get money to feed their families? These NPA rebels are barbaric,” said a local official.

The insurgents who pulled off the attack belong to the NPA’s Guerrilla Front 72, led by Felix Armodia.

Apparently reacting to the NPA attacks, government panels talking peace with the insurgents and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in a statement, asked the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA to return to the negotiating table instead of continuing to spread violence.

“We renew our call to the CPP-NPA for an end to violence on the ground so we can together build the peace that we all aspire for,” the panels said. – With John Unson, Jose Rodel Clapano