Key developments
since May 2002:Three rebel groups used landmines or improvised
explosive devices: New People’s Army, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and
Abu Sayyaf Group. Use by the MILF violated its written commitments to a mine
ban in April 2002 and September 2002. In May 2003, national implementation
legislation was introduced in Congress.
Mine Ban Policy
The Philippines signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3
December 1997, ratified on 15 February 2000 and the treaty entered into force on
1 August 2000. Representative Mario Aguja tabled national implementation
legislation, House Bill 6043, to the Congress on 26 May 2003. Two previous
bills prohibiting the use, manufacture, sale, and deployment of antipersonnel
mines, tabled in 2000 and 2001 at the House of Representatives, were not enacted
as they were considered a low priority in the slow legislative process. House
Bill 6043 adopted most of the recommendations submitted by the Philippine
Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL). The draft intends also to implement Amended
Protocol II to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).
The Philippines attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September
2002. A Philippine government delegate and a representative of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) made a presentation at the Roundtable Discussion on
Engaging Non-State Actors organized during the States Parties’ meeting by
Geneva Call and the ICBL Non-State Actors Working Group (NSA WG). First
Secretary Frank Cimafrancia of the Philippine Mission to the UN said that
“the Philippines is firmly committed to the goals and objectives of the
Ottawa Convention as well as the humanitarian norms established by the Geneva
Conventions of which it is a party.” He also congratulated the ICBL NSA
Working Group and Geneva Call for their “continuing effort of engaging
non-state actors in a landmine ban and wish to assure them of the Philippine
government’s support to their
initiatives.”[1]
The Philippines voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74 in
November 2002 calling for universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty. It attended
the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003. The
Philippines submitted its annual updated Article 7 transparency report on 30
April 2003. At the Fourth Annual Conference of States Parties to CCW Amended
Protocol II in December 2002, the Philippines submitted its annual Article 13
report.[2]
The Philippines is part of the Bangkok Regional Action Group (BRAG) formed at
the Fourth Meeting of States Parties. The BRAG is aimed at promoting the mine
ban in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in the lead up to the Fifth Meeting
of States Parties in Bangkok in September 2003. The Philippines participated in
the regional seminar, “Building a Cooperative Future for Mine Action in
South East Asia,” held in Phnom Penh in March 2003.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has
declared that it has not used antipersonnel mines in its fight against the
country’s communist and Moro insurgent groups. In its April 2003 Article
7 report, the Philippines reiterated that it disposed of its entire
antipersonnel mine inventory of 2,460 Claymore mines on 18 July 1998, and that
“since then, no antipersonnel mines have been obtained, procured, or
manufactured by the
AFP.”[3]
However, last year a military spokesperson told Landmine Monitor that the AFP
still possessed some command-detonated Claymore mines, which are not prohibited
by the Mine Ban Treaty.[4] In
March 2003, a feature article on the arms manufacturer Floro International
Corporation located in Rizal province, southeast of Metro Manila, claimed that
the Filipino-owned company has been one of the main suppliers of AFP’s
material requirements, including Claymore
mines.[5]
The AFP reported the recovery of landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices
(IEDs) in different parts of the country, indicating continuing although limited
use and production of mines by some armed non-state actors in the country. In
2002, the AFP found 21 improvised antipersonnel mines, three improvised
antivehicle mines, and six Claymore mines, of which two were described as
“improvised Claymore
mines.”[6] In addition, a
field report of the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao recorded the
recovery of one improvised landmine based on a 81mm mortar bomb in March
2003.[7]
Rebel Use
New People’s Army
Occasional antipersonnel and antivehicle landmine
incidents involving the New People’s Army (NPA), which is the armed wing
of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic
Front (NDF), continue to be reported.
Two incidents occurred in the Samar province, in the Visayas group of islands
south of Manila. On 30 June 2002, a military truck with soldiers belonging to
the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion hit a landmine planted along
the 38-kilometer dirt road in Paranas
town.[8] On 30 December 2002, a
military jeep full of soldiers hit a landmine laid by the NPA near a bridge in
Sitio Hebabaugan, Barangay Washington, in Catarman,
Samar.[9]
Two landmine incidents were also reported in Davao del Norte, in the eastern
part of Mindanao. On 5 October 2002, a military encounter with a group of
“dissident terrorists” at Sitio Pipisan, Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong,
Davao del Norte resulted in the wounding of a civilian allegedly hit by shrapnel
from a rebel-planted mine.[10]
In early February 2003, NPA rebels in Talaingod, Davao del Norte in Mindanao
reportedly exploded a landmine during an encounter with AFP troops on a morning
patrol.[11]
A landmine explosion in another part of Mindanao where the NPA also operates
was reported in early April 2003. The blast occurred in Upper Montol, in the
town of Bonifacio in Misasmis Occidental, and hit seven people, including two
militiamen. After the landmine explosion, around 20 suspected NPA rebels
appeared and ambushed the other
militiamen.[12]
In Southern Luzon, NPA rebels reportedly planted improvised explosives to
blast a telecommunication cell site in Matnog, Sorsogon on 27 May
2003.[13] In Northern Luzon,
the military reported intercepting 260 pieces of C-4 explosives for NPA in
Balbalan town, Kalinga
province.[14]
The NPA has stated on several occasions that it uses improvised antivehicle
and antipersonnel mines only in command-detonated mode. Some of the recovered
accessories in Samar, Camarines Norte and Davao included detonating cords and
electric wires.[15]
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Despite renewed public commitments to a total mine ban, several landmine
incidents in MILF-controlled areas indicate on-going use and production by MILF.
The MILF signed the Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment not to use, produce
or transfer mines in March 2000 in Geneva. Following a Geneva Call fact-finding
mission, MILF signed a revised and expanded “Deed of Commitment under
Geneva Call for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for
Cooperation in Mine Action”on 7 April 2002 in an undisclosed
camp in Mindanao.[16]
At the NSA roundtable in Geneva in September 2002, the MILF declared that
“as far as the arsenal of the BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces) is
concerned, we assure you we have no more stock of antipersonnel mines and we
have already stopped using, acquiring and producing such inhuman weapon since we
signed the first Deed of
Commitment.”[17]
The MILF also signed on 20 September 2002 the “Implementing Guidelines
for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Pursuant to its ‘Deed of
Commitment under Geneva Call for the Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel
Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action.’” In so doing the MILF
committed to issue written orders and directives to its forces regarding the
ban, to conduct information dissemination, and to introduce changes in the
BIAF’s military doctrines. It also committed to conduct various mine and
humanitarian education programs for its leadership and soldiers, as well as to
impose disciplinary sanctions for violations.
According to AFP sources, the MILF has continued to use antipersonnel mines
and IEDs, including mortar rounds captured from the AFP, equipped with blasting
caps. They assert that the MILF plants these in areas near their former camps
where AFP soldiers are expected to conduct clearing and pursuit
operations.[18]
After the AFP launched a major offensive in February 2003 against the MILF
Buliok camp complex in the adjoining provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao
in Central Mindanao, the MILF apparently utilized mines in retaliatory actions.
From March to April 2003, the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao
reported four separate landmine explosions in the vicinity of two former MILF
camps: two occurred on 15 March in Camp Abubakar, Barira, Maguindanao; the other
two on 22 April, in the Pagalungan, Maguindanao side of the former MILF Buliok
stronghold and in the Pikit, North Cotabato part of the Buliok
complex.[19]
The AFP also claimed to have found live landmines close to bunkers and
trenches dug around the
camp.[20] MILF documents were
reportedly seized indicating plans to conduct training courses on mine making as
part of its “Action Plan for
2002.”[21] On 15 March
2003, Army troops scouring the area after a landmine incident in Sitio Bombaran,
Bgy. Tugaig, Barira, Maguindanao, recovered one improvised 81mm mortar
landmine.[22]
A MILF Information Officer interviewed by Landmine Monitor was unaware of
landmines planted during the MILF’s withdrawal from their Buliok camp, and
noted that people used to move freely in and out of these camps before the
unexpected attack by the
AFP.[23]
It was also reported that the MILF planted landmines in Munai, Lanao del
Norte, in May 2003 in order to slow down government troops pursuing them. One
report said soldiers were stopping civilians from returning to their homes in
Munai because of the danger posed by the
mines.[24]
According to an AFP report, before to the escalation of fighting in 2003,
there were two other landmine incidents involving the MILF. One platoon of the
29th Infantry Battalion reportedly discovered several landmines
planted in the vicinity of Camp Bushra, Butig, Lanao del Sur. On 29 April 2002,
an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist and his companion during their
work hit an improvised mine planted on the side of the road and were
wounded.[25] On 21 October
2002, AFP troops discovered an abandoned MILF camp in Barangay Danag, Patikul,
Sulu and recovered one improvised explosive
device.[26] However, a source
close to the MILF said the MILF does not have a camp in Patikul, Sulu. Patikul
is known as an MNLF and Abu Sayyaf area of
operation.[27]
Abu Sayyaf Group
In July 2003, Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was accused of laying landmines and/or
victim-activated Improvised Explosive Devices on the southern island of Lugus.
Reportedly, two civilians were injured in separate incidents, on 29 June and 3
July 2003.[28] Regional police
commander Acmad Omar said, “These landmines pose a danger not only to
security forces but to innocent
civilians.”[29] In
another incident, a soldier was killed by a landmine supposedly laid by Abu
Sayyaf during a pursuit operation on the island of
Jolo.[30]
Earlier, in February 2002, an improvised landmine and a blasting cap were
found in an ambush of AFP troops by the ASG. And on 29 November 2002, the
53rd Infantry Battalion recovered one improvised landmine after the
ASG withdrew from the area in Barangay Duyan, Parang,
Sulu.[31]
RPA-ABB
The Rebolusyonaryong Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) is a
breakaway group from the New People’s Army. It forged a cease-fire and
peace agreement with the Philippine government in November 2000. On 21 July
2002, it signed the revised and expanded Geneva Call Deed of Commitment in Metro
Manila.[32] The signed Deed was
received by the Government of the Republic and Canton of Geneva on 10 September
2002.
Landmine Problem and Mine Action
The government stated in 2002 and 2003 that no
specific areas in the country can be considered mine-affected. It stated that
improvised mines, booby-traps, and other explosive devices used by insurgent
groups are immediately cleared by AFP ordnance and demolition
teams.[33]
The AFP conducted 250 courses on Explosive Ordnance Disposal training and
Bomb Threat Prevention from 30 April 2002 to 30 April 2003. It deployed seven
detachments of explosives experts nationwide to educate and protect civilians
and soldiers from the threat of mines and improvised explosive
devices.[34]
The Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines negotiated with the MILF and the
Philippine government a collaborative demining effort in areas of Mindanao,
notably in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, affected by the conflict in
2000.[35] In September 2002,
the MILF committed to the planned joint demining
initiative.[36] However, the
eruption of conflict in February 2003 has sidelined this effort.
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
In 2002, there were at least three new mine
casualties. On 29 April, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist and
his companion were injured after hitting an improvised mine planted on the side
of the road while riding a motorcycle, and on 5 October, a civilian was injured
after being hit by shrapnel from a rebel-planted mine during a military
encounter.[37]
Ten landmine-related incidents were reported between April 2002 and April
2003, in which 15 people were killed and 30 others
injured.[38] The majority of
casualties were AFP soldiers. However, it is not clear if some of the deaths
and injuries were due to mine blasts or to gunfire that followed these
explosions.
In 2001, 22 new mine/UXO casualties were
reported.[39]
Casualties continue to be reported in 2003. In April, four Marines were
injured during a mine clearance
operation,[40] and in a separate
incident, three people were killed and four injured by a landmine explosion
while hiking in Misamis Occidental. Two of those killed were militiamen, but
the others were civilians.[41]
In May, a soldier was injured after an armored personnel carrier hit a
mine.[42] Two civilians were
injured in separate incidents, on 29 June and 3 July 2003, on the island of
Lugus, by mines allegedly laid by Abu
Sayyaf.[43] Also in July, a
soldier was killed by a mine allegedly laid by Abu Sayyaf on the island of
Jolo.[44]
AFP personnel and civilians casualties are brought to the nearest military or
government hospital for immediate treatment. In general, the Department of
Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development provide
rehabilitation programs for mine survivors. AFP landmine casualties in Central
Mindanao are transported by helicopter to the Camp Navarro General Hospital for
emergency treatment, and later referred to the V. Luna AFP Medical Center in
Quezon City for prostheses and
rehabilitation.[45]
Although medical care is available many civilians cannot afford it. In 2002,
the ICRC provided both medical supplies and financial support to health
facilities in Mindanao. Surgical assistance was provided for 347 civilians,
many of whom had been injured in the conflict, 14 amputees were fitted with
prostheses, and 48 pairs of crutches were
distributed.[46]
[1] Opening Remarks by Frank Cimafrancia,
First Secretary, Philippine Mission to the UN, at the Roundtable Discussion on
“Engaging Non-State Actors in a Landmine Ban,” Geneva, 17 September
2002. [2] CCW Amended Protocol II
Article 13 Report, Form A, 19 October
2002. [3] Article 7 Report, Form A, 30
April 2003. [4] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 413. [5] Lala Rimando,
“Going Great Guns,” Newsbreak, 31 March 2003, p.
36. [6] AFP report, “Landmines
Recovered, Calendar Year 2002”
(undated). [7] Report provided by Col.
Arturo Cayton Jr., Sixth Infantry Division Chief of Staff, Camp Siongco, Awang,
Maguindanao, 29 March 2003. [8] Vicente
S. Labro and Cynthia A. Borgueta, “Rebels burn alive soldier, kill another
in Samar town ambush,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2 July 2002, p.
A9. [9] Vicente S. Labro, “2
soldiers slain in NPA attack in N. Samar,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1
January 2003, p. A12. [10] AFP report,
“Landmining Incidents, Calendar Year 2002”
(undated). [11] Martin P. Marfil, Ayan
C. Mellejor and Anthony S. Allada, “Bodies of 7 soldiers slain in NPA
ambush retrieved,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 9 February
2003. [12] “MILF vows probe of
rebs’ ties with Bin Laden,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 April
2003, p. A14. [13] Marasigan F.
“Matnog Globe cell site bombed,” Today, 29 May 2003, p.
12. [14] “Government troops
overran NPA jungle camp in Quezon,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 October
2002, p. A18. [15] AFP report,
“Landmines Recovered, Calendar Year
2002.” [16] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, pp. 412–413. [17]
Brief Statement of Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim, MILF Vice-chair for Military Affairs
and BIAF chief of staff, at the Roundtable Discussion on Engaging Non-State
Actors in a Landmine Ban, Palais de Nations, Geneva, 17 September
2003. [18] Interview with Col. Arturo
Cayton, Jr., Chief of Staff, 6th Infantry Division Headquarters, Camp Siongco,
Awang, Maguindanao, 29 May 2003. Similar information was provided in a phone
interview with Gen. Benedicto Corona, Commanding General, Marine Brigade based
in Pikit, Cotabato, 27 May 2003. [19]
These incidents are listed in a one-page “Report on Landmining
Incidents” prepared by the Office of the Chief of Staff, 6th Infantry
Division, under the supervision of Col. Arturo Cayton, Jr., Camp Siongco, Awang,
Maguindanao, provided to Landmine Monitor on 29 May
2003. [20] Dona Pazzibugan, “MILF,
not Pentagon gang, real target,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 February
2003, pp. A1, A18. [21] Anthony S.
Allada, Ayan C. Mellejor and Martin Marfil, “Gov’t files criminal
raps vs MILF chief, 148 others,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 8 March 2003,
pp. A1, A19. [22] “Report on the
Landmining Incidents,” provided on 29 May
2003. [23] Interview with a
Mindanao-based MILF information officer who requested anonymity, Manila, 30
March 2003. [24] Joel Locsin,
“MILF plant landmines,” Manila Standard, 20 May
2003. [25] AFP report, “Landmine
Incidents, Calendar Year
2002.” [26] AFP report,
“Landmines Recovered, Calendar Year
2002.” [27] Interview with an MILF
supporter, Cotabato City, 28 May
2003. [28] “Police tighten
security in southern Philippines after two injured by land mines,” Xinhua
News Agency (Zamboanga City, Philippines), 7 July
2003. [29] “Abu Sayyaf deters
troops with landmine – police,” Xinhua News Agency (Manila), 3 July
2003. The descriptions of the “landmines” indicated they were
improvised devices, not factory-produced
mines. [30] “Military-abu Sayyaf
clash kills six in southern Philippines,” Xinhua News Agency (Manila), 3
July 2003. [31] AFP report,
“Landmines Recovered, Calendar Year
2002.” [32] The RPA-ABB and its
party, the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas (RPM-P) signed the
first Deed version in March 2000 in Geneva.
[33] Amended Protocol II Article 13
Report, Form B, 19 October 2002; Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form C, 30
April 2003. [34] Mine Ban Treaty Article
7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2003. [35]
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
414. [36] See, “Implementing
Guidelines for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Pursuant to its
‘Deed of Commitment under Geneva Call for the Adherence to a Total Ban on
Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action,’” signed by
MILF’s legal counsel Lanang S. Ali and Soliman Santos, Jr., regional
director for Asia of Geneva Call on 20 September 2002 in
Geneva. [37] AFP report, “Landmine
Incidents, Calendar Year 2002.”
[38] Ibid; Vicente S. Labro and Cynthia
A. Borgueta, “Rebels burn alive soldier, kill another in Samar town
ambush,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2 July 2002, p.A9; Vicente S. Labro,
“2 soldiers slain in NPA attack in N. Samar,” Philippine Daily
Inquirer, 1 January 2003, p. A12; Martin P. Marfil, Ayan C. Mellejor and Anthony
S. Allada, “Bodies of 7 soldeirs slain in NPA ambush retrieved,”
Philippine Daily Inquirer, 9 February 2003; “MILF vows probe of
rebs’ ties with Bin Laden,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 April
2003, p. A14; “Explosions mar GMA visit to Pikit,” Philippine Daily
Inquirer, 23 April 2003, pp. A1, A19; “Report on Landmine Incidents”
prepared by the Office of the Chief of Staff, 6th ID, Philippine Army, Camp
Siongco. [39] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 414. [40] Fiena P.
Guerrero with Allen V. Estabillo, “Marines hurt in Pikit blast hours
before Arroyo arrival,” BusinessWorld, 23 April
2003. [41] “MILF vows probe of
rebs’ ties with Bin Laden,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 April
2003, p. A14. [42] Joel Locain,
“MILF plant landmines,” Manila Standard, 20 May
2003. [43] “Police tighten
security in southern Philippines after two injured by land mines,” Xinhua
News Agency (Zamboanga City, Philippines), 7 July
2003. [44] “Military-abu Sayyaf
clash kills six in southern Philippines,” Xinhua News Agency (Manila), 3
July 2003. [45] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 415. [46] ICRC,
“Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003, p. 167.
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