Iloilo City residents file rights rap vs NPA rebs

Iloilo City residents have filed a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) against communist rebels for allegedly placing internationally-banned landmines near a public school last month. The filing was led by Bonifacio Endencio, village chairman of Barangay Igcabugao, with the help of the military’s 82nd Infantry Battalion, according to information from the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS). Lt. Col. Michael Samson, acting chief of the CRS-Media Affairs Group, said the landmines were obviously intended for soldiers but had endangered the lives of civilians at the area. He said the landmines were found by soldiers who responded to a reported attack by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels near Igcabugao Elementary School. “This incident caused the community great alarm and fear because there were students attending classes when the NPA started firing at us. As a result, classes were suspended for three days while soldiers cleared Sitio Bais," the CRS quoted Endencio as saying in the complaint. NPA rebels have perpetrated 53 landmine attacks throughout the country since 2002, killing 186 people, many of them are civilians, military records showed. The number of attacks included the 11 last year, mostly in Compostela Valley. The Philippines is a signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty convened in Ottawa in 1997. The treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the NPA’s political wing, has vowed to uphold the treaty under Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law, one of the substantive agenda in the aborted peace talks. CRS chief Brig. Gen. Francisco Cruz said the residents of Barangay Igcabugao displayed courage by filing the complaint against the NPA and for seeking the military’s assistance. “We appreciate the residents’ trust in the AFP; and we laud their courage in asserting their rights and fighting for the safety of their community against further NPA landmine attacks and exploitations," he said. - KBK, GMANews.TV