Surrender rebels behind Davao landmine blast, NDF dared

MANILA, Philippines - The military dared the National Democratic Front (NDF) to surrender the rebels behind the recent landmine explosion in Davao del Sur that left four civilians wounded.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the NDF’s plan to compensate the wounded civilians would not remove the rebels’ criminal liability.

“The payment does not exonerate you from the crimes you did. You must be accountable to the people you have hurt,” Zagala told journalists at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City the other day.

“If they (NDF) are sincere, they should submit those who are responsible to face the law because that action is the only way that the people they hurt will get justice,” he added.

Zagala was reacting to the NDF’s announcement that it would indemnify the civilians who were wounded in the landmine explosion in Barangay Managa, Bansalan, Davao del Sur last March 2.

Rubi del Mundo, spokesperson of the NDF’s Southern Mindanao chapter, said third-party facilitators composed of church people, medical practitioners and other advocates have been asked to fast-track the indemnity for the victims.

Zagala said the indemnity was “an admission of guilt that they attacked civilians.”

“The use of landmines is a violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. It’s inhumane. They should stop it,” he said.

Eleven soldiers were wounded in an encounter with the insurgents at around 11 a.m. last March 2. Later in the night, four civilians were hurt after a convoy of ambulances sent to assist the wounded soldiers hit a landmine.

The wounded civilians, belonging to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, were identified as Genaro Doronio Dumayas, Bonita de la Cruz, Arnel Comandante Veloroso, and Alberto Simbajon Cabual.