NDF: Landmine use in Cagayan ambush did not violate intl law

A regional spokesman of the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) maintained Saturday that its armed units did not violate any international law in exploding a landmine during an ambush that killed five police personnel in Cagayan province last January 23. NDF Cagayan Valley spokesman Salvador del Pueblo said the New People’s Army (NPA) used command-detonated, and not pressure-triggered, explosives to ensure the safety of civilians. "As the name connotes, these CDX (command-detonated explosives) are manned and triggered on command and, as such, are legitimate weapons of war," del Pueblo said in a statement posted Saturday night on the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) website. "This is in accordance to the Ottawa Treaty and pertinent provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)," the rebel spokesman added. Killed in the ambush were Rizal town police chief Inspector Antonino Rueco, his policewoman-wife SPO2 Maryann Rueco, PO1 Erminio Rueco, PO2 Jose Baquiran, and PO1 Joven Jimenez. Wounded was SPO4 Edison Lagua. (See: Cagayan town police chief, 4 others killed in ambush) The victims were on their way to Tuguegarao City from Rizal town, 60 kilometers away, when a landmine exploded into their vehicle’s path on the afternoon of January 23. Army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade Jr. and Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. quickly condemned the NPA for supposedly violating the CARHRIHL by using a landmine in the said ambush. Del Pueblo, however, said the military knows well that Inspector Rueco and his team were legitimate targets of NPA military action. He added the police in Rizal town had been active in "military operations." He also accused Rueco and his men of extortion and working as bodyguards of local officials and landlords. Del Pueblo also twitted Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo for implying that the Cagayan ambush is a show of the NPA's bad faith in the ongoing peace negotiations between the NDF and the government. "While the ambush was the first tactical offensive to be launched after the preliminary talks started, a legitimate tactical offensive by the NPA does not endanger the peace process," Del Pueblo said. “As the NDF participates in negotiations for political, socio-economic and other needed reforms, it does not mean that the NPA will cease carrying out its responsibility as the people's army, including launching tactical offensives against the enemy, implementing land reform, and building organs of political power in the countryside," he added. Alleged NPA leaders charged The NPA’s statement came after charges were filed against at least seven of their alleged local leaders for the ambush. Five counts of murder, two counts of frustrated murder and rebellion were filed against the seven before the Cagayan prosecutor’s office. Named in the charges were Jose Asco alias Ka Baylon, Edison Erese alias Ka Ronel and Divina Manuel Erese alias Ka Arlene, three alleged NPA team leaders who led the ambush that killed the five police officers in Barangay Iluru Sur, Rizal town. Also charged by Cagayan police before the prosecutor’s office were Nestor Romero alias Rivas, Rolito Raza alias Lanlan, Michael Pascual, and Atumpa Ancalao Ballong alias Ka Hitler, as well as several other John Does, all alleged members of the NPA under the Danilo Ben Command. The Cagayan police have yet to arrest the suspects. The CPP-NPA and its umbrella alliance NDF have been waging armed struggle for four decades now to establish a communist-led state in the Philippines.—Joel Nueva with JMA/JV, GMANews.TV