Army discovers NPA landmine factory

MANILA, Philippines - A landmine factory owned by the New People’s Army (NPA) has been discovered by soldiers in Loreto, Agusan del Sur, a military spokesperson said Friday.

Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman Cpt. Alberto Caber said a total of 163 pieces of landmines were recovered from the factory located in Sitio Mampait in Barangay Kauswagan last Wednesday.

Caber said security forces were able to locate the landmine factory through information relayed by civilians in the area.

“The recovered landmines can injure or kill thousands of civilian and can destroy a city by its devastating impact when detonated at the same time,” Caber said. 

“The use of landmine is a violation of the provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian law (CARHRIHL),” he added.

The military criticizes the rebels for using landmines, saying it violates the CARHRIHL signed by the government and the rebels in 1998.

Communist rebels have claimed that their explosives are legitimate weapons of war and are allowed by existing international treaties. They claim their landmines are command-detonated explosives and not pressure-triggered to ensure the safety of civilians.

Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo Cruz III said the factory is the biggest landmine facility to be discovered so far.

He scored the National Democratic Front (NDF), the group negotiating with the government in behalf of communist rebels, for supposedly allowing the manufacture of the explosives.

“The NDF wants to talk peace with the government however they still continue to manufacture weapon of mass destruction. It is clear that the NDF are not really sincere about peace after all,” Cruz said in a statement. 

Caber said a total of 453 landmines planted by communist rebels had exploded in Eastern Mindanao since 2010. He said the explosives have left 128 persons dead and 325 others wounded and have damaged several properties.