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.