8th ID condemns use of land mines

CATBALOGAN CITY , Philippines— The 8th Infantry Division is calling on the public to join the military in condemning the continued use of landmines by the New People’s Army.

Brigadier Gen. Gerardo Layug, commanding general of the 8th ID, said the use of landmines is a violation of 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 (CARHIHL). It is prohibited because such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians,” he said.

“I call on everyone to condemn this senseless act of violence against our troops and our people,” Layug said.

On December 14, 2010, local NPA rebels launched a landmine attack at the vicinity of Barangays Sta. Fe and Perez in Catubig, Northern Samar against the elements of 63rd Infantry Battalion, which resulted in the death of military troops and a nine-year-old boy.

Recently, the NPA have also used landmines against government troops in Barangay Antipolo, Llorente, Eastern Samar and Barangay Nago-Ocan, Catubig, Northern Samar.

In other areas, the rebels also employed landmines during an attack against the operating elements of the 71st Infantry Battalion at sitio Linaw, Brgy Panamin, Mabini town, Compostella Valley last April 28, killing a soldier and wounding seven civilians.

A similar incident also happened last February 27 in another undisclosed area. Early this year an elderly woman died during a landmine explosion in CARAGA region and the previous year another civilian was killed due to a landmine explosion at Maco, Compostella Valley.

Last March 5, the 8th ID troops seized 44 improvised landmines and production paraphernalia in an NPA explosive factory in the hinterlands of the Municipality of Paranas, Samar.

“All of these only prove 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,” according to a statement from the 8th ID in a press release. (PIA-8 Samar with LTC. Alvin Lagamon)(FREEMAN)