18 NPA landmines recovered: Army

From the Sun Star-Davao (Apr 7): 18 NPA landmines recovered: Army

THE Philippine Army has recovered a total of 18 landmines in different areas in Compostela Valley for the first week of April alone.

Three landmines were recovered last Wednesday following two separate encounters between government troops and the New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Barangays Anitapan and Libudon in Mabini, Compostela Valley.

One of the landmines killed Private First Class (Pfc.) Rechie B. Antic and Sergeant Romy S. Sumaria, and wounded Sergeant Edmund Cuestas and Private Aldaire Alias. They were engaging the rebels in a firefight in Sitio Darot, Barangay Libudon, Mabini when the landmine went off.

Members of the 71st Infantry Battalion (IB) also recovered 15 landmines, assorted ammunition, and rifle grenades in Barangay Libudon around 6 a.m. Friday, April 5.

According to the military, the rebels detonated a total of seven landmines this year alone, including the incident that killed one soldier and wounded 10 others who were coming from the Relief and Rehabilitation Operations in Davao Oriental.

Colonel Angelito de Leon, commander of the 1001st Infantry, said in a statement that explosive Ordnance Disposal teams were already in the area for the proper disposal of the explosives.

"The continuous use of landmines by the lawless armed group shows that the NPAs are unmindful about the safety of the civilians," he said.

"Their terroristic strategy shows their disregard for human rights and deliberate violation of the Government and CPP-NPA-NDF's Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). Part III, Art II, Section 15 of that agreement states that use landmines is strictly prohibited," he added.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2013/04/07/18-npa-landmines-recovered-army-276456