NPA denies using banned land mines
10/30/2008 | 07:17 PM
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The New People’s Army (NPA) has belied using banned explosive in the recent attack they staged against the military in the town of New Bataan in Compostela Valley province.
The said attack resulted in the death of at least six soldiers, including 2nd Lt. Jeffrey Domingo, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2008, and Cpl. Anthony Maglantay.
Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesperson of the NPA’s Merardo Arce Command, countered allegations that they used the pressure-detonated land mine, which was banned by the Ottawa Treaty.
“Command-detonated explosives fundamentally differ from land mines which are designed to explode by the presence, proximity or contact of a person, and are specifically banned by the Ottawa Treaty," Sanchez said in a statement.
“Unlike pressure-detonated or victim-detonated mines, the command-detonated explosives used by the NPA against the intruding AFP/PNP only explode when switched on by the detonating officer of an NPA unit upon the order of the commanding officer," Sanchez added.
Maj. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said fragments recovered from the blast site indicate that the rebels used the banned land mine.
But Sanchez said the military was only employing lies to gain the sympathy of the people after losing in recent clashes.
“Reeling from its recent defeat, the military desperately appealed for public sympathy by saying that the NPA endangered civilian lives in using landmines that have already been banned by international war protocols," Sanchez said.
“The spin machine are banging their heads desperately looking for a plausible storyline to save face," Sanchez said. - GMANews.TV
The said attack resulted in the death of at least six soldiers, including 2nd Lt. Jeffrey Domingo, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2008, and Cpl. Anthony Maglantay.
Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesperson of the NPA’s Merardo Arce Command, countered allegations that they used the pressure-detonated land mine, which was banned by the Ottawa Treaty.
“Command-detonated explosives fundamentally differ from land mines which are designed to explode by the presence, proximity or contact of a person, and are specifically banned by the Ottawa Treaty," Sanchez said in a statement.
“Unlike pressure-detonated or victim-detonated mines, the command-detonated explosives used by the NPA against the intruding AFP/PNP only explode when switched on by the detonating officer of an NPA unit upon the order of the commanding officer," Sanchez added.
Maj. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said fragments recovered from the blast site indicate that the rebels used the banned land mine.
But Sanchez said the military was only employing lies to gain the sympathy of the people after losing in recent clashes.
“Reeling from its recent defeat, the military desperately appealed for public sympathy by saying that the NPA endangered civilian lives in using landmines that have already been banned by international war protocols," Sanchez said.
“The spin machine are banging their heads desperately looking for a plausible storyline to save face," Sanchez said. - GMANews.TV
