Commitment to the Mine Ban Treaty

Policy

The Republic of the Philippines signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 15 February 2000, becoming a State Party on 1 August 2000.

The Philippine Congress held the first hearing on the Philippine Landmine Bill in March 2009, and the government told other States Parties in May 2009 that it hoped the law would pass before national elections in May 2010.[1]  But the Congress subsequently set aside the bill because of other priorities, and the government reported that the bill “remained at the Technical Working Group level.”[2]  Previous bills introduced in the Congress since 2000 were never called for public hearing and abandoned for other priorities.[3]

The Philippines submitted an annual Article 7 transparency report on 16 April 2010, covering calendar year 2009.  It did not report in 2009 or 2008, but provided eight previous reports.[4]

The Philippines participated in the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty in Cartagena, Colombia in November–December 2009, where it made a statement during the high level segment, as well as on stockpile destruction.[5]  It was named co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction for the next year, and will become co-chair at the Tenth Meeting of States Parties in November 2010.

On 5 May 2010, negotiators in the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace process signed an agreement to undertake mine action to allow community rehabilitation in areas of recent conflict in Mindanao. The cooperation agreement was proposed by the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL).[6]

Production, transfer, stockpiling, and use

The Philippines reports that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines.  It destroyed its entire stockpile of antipersonnel mines—all Claymore-type mines—in 1998. It did not retain any live mines for training purposes. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has stated that it has never used antipersonnel mines to combat insurgency within the country.

Media reports regularly state that authorities have recovered landmines during operations against insurgents.[7] In December 2009, the Philippines told States Parties that all landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recovered from non-state armed groups (NSAGs) are destroyed immediately.[8]

The AFP and the Philippine National Police annually provide the PCBL with data on incidents in which explosive weapons have been used, including information on device type, seizures and recoveries, the number and names of casualties, and whether they were killed or injured.[9]

Non-state armed groups

In the past, at least three rebel groups have used antipersonnel mines or victim-activated IEDs: New People’s Army (NPA), MILF, and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Five rebel groups, including the MILF, have formally pledged in writing not to use antipersonnel mines.[10]

Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor could not identify any specific instances of use of antipersonnel mines (victim-activated explosive devices or booby-traps) by NSAGs during the reporting period (since May 2009).  In its Article 7 report covering 2009, the Philippines reports that the AFP investigated “various instances of use of Anti-Personnel Mines by Armed Non-State Actors” in 2009, but the report does not comment on any findings.[11]

Insurgent groups continued to use command-detonated IEDs in 2009 and 2010. IEDs are frequently referred to as “landmines” by authorities and by the Philippine media. In particular, authorities frequently refer to command-detonated improvised Claymore-type directional fragmentation weapons as “antipersonnel mines.”[12]

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, signed a Comprehensive Agreement to Respect Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) with the Philippine government in 1998.[13] The CARHRIHL commits both parties to protect the civilian population by not violating the “right not to be subjected to...the use of landmines,” but does not define landmine. Government and AFP officials have consistently accused the NPA of violating CARHRIHL by using command-detonated mines.

The NPA asserts that it manufactures and uses only command-detonated weapons allowed under the Mine Ban Treaty and, in its view, the CARHRIHL.[14] In some cases, attacks with these weapons have killed or injured civilians, and there was one report in 2010 of the NPA employing a child combatant to use such mines.[15]

In November 2009, the Swiss NGO Geneva Call organized a fact-finding mission to investigate allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by the MILF in Mindanao from August 2008 to May 2009.  The MILF signed the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment banning use of antipersonnel mines in 2000. The investigation was agreed to, and facilitated by, both the government of the Philippines and the MILF.  According to Geneva Call, “The mission team found that AP [antipersonnel] mines had indeed been used, but was not able to identify the perpetrators; however it was considered that MILF forces may have been involved in some of these incidents.”[16]

According to a news account, in February 2010 two soldiers were killed and another injured when “they tripped on the mine” during efforts to find people kidnapped by the ASG.[17]  There were media reports of at least two other incidents alleging use of mines by the ASG in this reporting period, but Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor was not able to determine if these incidents involved victim-activated explosive devices. In June 2009, it was reported that mines planted by the ASG slowed down the rescue of a Red Cross worker kidnapped by the ASG.[18]  In March 2010, it was reported that four soldiers were injured when they “accidentally tripped on a bomb fashioned out as a landmine” while pursuing the ASG in Basilan.[19] In addition, some instances of vehicle-activated mines were attributed to the ASG in 2009 and 2010.[20]

Commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

Policy

The Republic of the Philippines signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. In June 2010 at the International Conference on the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Santiago, Chile, the Philippines stated that it hoped that it would complete its ratification process prior to the First Meeting of States Parties in November 2010.[1]

In November 2009, at the Regional Conference on the Promotion and Universalization of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Bali, Indonesia, the Philippines stated that it was working to complete domestic procedures to ratify the convention, which involved several government ministries.[2] In March 2009, the Philippines stated that it “is undergoing internal procedures leading to the possible ratification” of the convention.[3]

The Philippines has continued to demonstrate strong interest in the convention. In addition to the Bali regional and Santiago international conferences, it participated in the Berlin Conference on the Destruction of Cluster Munitions in June 2009.

The Philippines joined the Oslo Process in December 2007 and participated in the international treaty preparatory conferences in Vienna and Wellington, as well as the formal negotiations in Dublin in May 2008. It was a strong proponent of the most comprehensive convention possible, and made several proposals that were agreed by the negotiators.[4]

The Philippines is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but has not yet ratified Protocol V on explosive remnants of war. The Philippines has participated in CCW deliberations on cluster munitions in recent years but made few statements.

The Philippines has stated that it “is not a user, producer, stockpiler or supplier of cluster munitions.”[5] The Philippines has also stated that it “has no intention to assist, encourage or induce any state, group or individual to engage in any of the prohibited activities.”[6]

Contamination and Impact

The Philippines is affected by explosive remnants of war (ERW), especially UXO, as a result of long-running, low-level insurgencies by the New People’s Army (NPA) and other non-state armed groups, mainly in Mindanao. The extent to which it is also affected by mines is unclear.

Mines

The Philippines has consistently denied in its Article 7 reports that it has any mined areas containing antipersonnel mines and says that whenever mines or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are found they are immediately removed. However, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claims that the NPA and Moro rebels continued to use antipersonnel mines in 2009 and 2010.^[1] Most incidents attributed to the NPA involved IEDs, but one soldier was reported killed and three injured in Baganga, Davao Oriental, when they “stepped on a claymore mine” in June 2009,^[2] and the army also reported in June that mines were laid in an NPA harbor site in Pantukan, Compostela Valley.^[3]

The NPA denies using landmines, but acknowledges that it continues to use command-detonated IEDs in attacks on government security forces.^[4] The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also states that it does not use victim-activated antipersonnel mines.^[5] An AFP report attributes to the MILF one IED blast in Maguindanao. A Geneva Call verification mission in November 2009 found that victim-activated IEDs had been used in two series of incidents in Mindanao in 2008–2009 and determined that there were “substantial grounds for concluding that there may have been” involvement by the MILF. The MILF had signed Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment, and the verification mission said it found no evidence that MILF leaders knew of, or condoned, potential antipersonnel mine use.^[6]

Explosive remnants of war

Mindanao is affected mainly by UXO resulting from conflict between the government and Muslim rebels dating back more than 30 years. The AFP says that 30% of total ordnance in Mindanao is UXO, and a similar percentage of MILF ordnance may remain as UXO in the area.^[7] Mindanao also has some ERW remaining from World War II, such as a bomb found in the Rio Grande de Mindanao in Cotabato in January 2010.^[8]

Mine Action Program

The Philippines has no formal program for dealing with mines, IEDs, or ERW. Clearance to date has been conducted by a range of government actors, including the AFP and the police. 

For example, the AFP’s Office of Civil Defense reported in August 2008 that it conducted mine clearance operations in Aleosan, North Cotabato, and Mindanao before allowing people displaced by war to return home.^[9]

Government negotiators and the MILF agreed in May 2010 to implement guidelines that provide for clearance of landmines and UXO in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD).^[10] The agreement provides a basis for developing a proposal for clearance and approaching donors.^[11]

The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported in 2007 it had deployed five explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians in each of Mindanao’s 11 provinces to deal with bomb attacks.^[12] In addition, the army, navy, air force, and the PNP each deployed EOD units in areas of armed conflict, such as Jolo and Cotabato, to dispose of IEDs and UXO after armed hostilities occur.^[13] 

Other Risk Reduction Measures

In November and December 2009, FSD and the Philippines Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL) held the first mine/ERW risk education (RE) Train-the-Trainer course for NGO workers in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao, intended as the first phase of an integrated mine action strategy. RE providers are to deliver safety messages and give advice and assistance to internally displaced persons and other communities affected by UXO.^[14] The training was made possible by government and MILF acceptance in 2007 of a joint FSD/PCBL proposal to conduct survey, marking, and destruction of mines and UXO in MILF territory.^[15]

Further progress on the strategy is dependent on agreeing terms of reference with the government’s Peace Panels and the MILF.^[16] A resumption of hostilities in August 2008 held up final agreement on the proposals.^[17] The MILF has expressed support for RE and clearance in Mindanao within the context of the peace process between the MILF and the Philippine government.^[18] In May 2010, the MILF agreed to terms of reference for protection of civilians in areas of conflict, which provided a basis for further discussion on implementing the FSD/PCBL proposal.^[19]

Casualties

Casualties in 2009

In 2009, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor identified 16 casualties from three incidents with victim-activated mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the Philippines, a decrease from the 69 casualties identified in 2008. Half of the casualties were children, all from the same ERW incident (three were killed and five injured), and they were the first child casualties recorded in 2009.[1] The remaining casualties were adult security personnel, seven of which were male and one for whom the gender was unknown (two killed and six injured).[2]

The decrease in the number of recorded casualties from 2008 was can be attributed in part to clearer reporting of device types and improved efforts to separate incidents caused by command-activated devices in 2009. In addition, 2009 saw decreased use of victim-activated mines by non-state armed groups,[3] and readjustment in casualty numbers following a peak in incidents associated with intensified conflict in 2008.[4]  

Since 1999, 461 casualties have been identified from mines, ERW, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) (177 killed, 283 injured, and one unknown).[5]

Throughout this period, adult male security personnel have been the largest recorded casualty group. It is likely that many military casualties were caused by command-detonated devices, as details in past reporting were unclear.[6]  However, the total numbers of mine/ERW casualties actually occurring annually may be much higher than previously identified. The ICRC reported that in 2009, 329 people injured by mines/ERW were treated in hospitals it supported.  It was not noted how many of those casualties were injured in 2009 and no comparable information was reported for 2008.[7]

Victim Assistance

At least 283 mine/ERW survivors have been identified through media monitoring.[8] However, according to the government’s National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), there was “no specific program or even database for landmine casualties, victims or survivors, because landmine warfare is not common in the Philippines.”[9]

Survivor needs

No efforts were made in 2009 to assess survivor needs. However, in September 2009, the 1st National Disability Summit established governmental institutional mechanisms to receive information on the needs of persons with disabilities.[10]

Victim assistance coordination[11]

The Philippines has no specific coordination or plans for mine/ERW victim assistance.

Survivor inclusion

While there were no survivors directly involved in the coordination and implementation of disability services, the president of the Veterans Foundation of the Philippines, a body which includes military survivors, was a member of the NCDA’s governing board.[12]

Service accessibility and effectiveness

Victim assistance activities in 2009[13]

There were no significant changes to the overall availability or quality of services and assistance to mine/ERW survivors in 2009. The distance that survivors had to travel from remote conflict areas to access services was the greatest obstacle to receiving care.[14]

In conflict areas in 2009, local health staff received war surgery training, two technicians from Davao Jubilee Centre received training in physical rehabilitation, and donations of medicine and medical equipment increased. However, this increased capacity was offset by an increased demand for such services as a result of intensified conflict in the first half of 2009. As in previous years, surgeons specializing in treating weapon wounds or burn injuries mainly worked in urban areas.[15]

Psychosocial support for survivors was lacking, with no changes identified in 2009.

In 2009, HI began a new CBR program to promote local inclusive development for the integration of persons with disabilities working with five local government units on the mine/ERW-affected Panay Island.[16] However, economic inclusion efforts were still insufficient and the government had limited means to assist persons with disabilities in finding employment.[17]

While the government continued to provide some financial assistance to military casualties or their surviving family members, there was a ‘backlog’ of widows in need of support and a decrease in private assistance to supplement government support.[18]

The existing legal framework outlined the rights of persons with disabilities but due to weak implementation of legislation and lack of sufficient government funding, remained largely ineffective.[19]

The Philippines ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 15 April 2008; it entered into force in May 2008.