ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES. The map of Giporlos, Eastern Samar where police operatives recovered anti-personnel mines on Wednesday (January 19, 2022). The recovery has stalled possible terrorist attacks by the New People’s Army. (Google image)
TACLOBAN CITY – Police recovered on Jan. 19 four anti-personnel mines (APMs) in the mountains of Giporlos, Eastern Samar, stalling possible terrorist attacks by the New People’s Army (NPA).
Joint operatives from the Eastern Samar police provincial office and Giporlos police station recovered the landmines on Wednesday morning in the vicinity of upland Huknan village in Giporlos town, police said in its report released on Thursday.
The intelligence-driven operation was done through information from a former rebel who helped the operatives locate the anti-personnel mines beside a river just four kilometers away from a community.
Near the explosives, police also found a motorcycle, 12 volts battery, and a piece of detonating wire.
The area is said to be under the NPA’s Front Committee South East of Sub Regional Committee. Giporlos is about 100 kilometers northeast of Tacloban, the regional center of Eastern Visayas.
Lt. Col. Edgar Allan Orbito, commander of the Army’s 63rd Infantry Battalion, lauded their counterparts in the Philippine National Police for recovering the mines intended to attack government forces and even civilians.
“These are being used by NPA for their stationary attacks. This should be avoided since these are prohibited by international law. We are happy that a former rebel helped our authorities since this indicates that they are not supportive (of) the NPA’s armed struggle,” Orbito said in a phone interview on Thursday.
The international community adopted the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention prohibiting the acquisition, production, stockpiling, and use of the weapon.
More than 160 states are party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention that went into effect in 1999.
The incident validates that the communist terrorist group is still using anti-personnel mines and this could be used to launch treacherous attacks, according to the Army official.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
In July last year, the National Democratic Front has also been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Philippines’ Anti-Terrorism Council. (PNA)
