No bacterial weapons used in attacks, CPP says

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -   The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said the New People's Army  does not use bacterial weapons in the insurgency war it has been waging for more than four decades now.

Flatly rejecting as “baseless, desperate and fecal-brained” the military’s allegation that communist rebels smear explosives with human feces, the CPP said “the purpose of explosives detonated on command is to momentarily stun and immobilize the enemy, thereby enabling the guerrillas to maintain the initiative in battle and maximize the employment of tactical superior firepower, and not to subject anyone to bacterial infection.”

The military said on Thursday that rebels have been using bacterial weapons after Tuesday’s NPA attack in Napnapan, Pantukan, Compostela Valley as wounded soldiers were found positive for bacteria commonly found in the human gut.

“Any medical practitioner knows that open wounds, especially if not treated promptly, can be infected with bacteria, especially those that cause tetanus,” said the CPP.

“A medical doctor interviewed on national television also explained that the intestinal bacteria allegedly found by AFP doctors in shrapnel extracted from the wounded soldiers have limited life spans outside of the gut and are harmless unless ingested.”

The CPP also insists that under International Humanitarian Law and the Ottawa conventions against land mines, the guerrilla forces of the NPA are allowed to employ command-detonated explosives.