By Yas Ocampo
The 10th Infantry Division (10ID) of the Philippine Army has submitted to the Joint Monitoring Committee 19 formal complaints against the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) for violations of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Elite forces from the Philippine army (Credits: Ali Vicoy | Manila Bulletin file photo)
The army claimed that 15 of the violations were perpetrated against civilians, with the 10ID claiming a violation of Article 4.4 of Part IV of CARHRIHL, which excludes civilians from being objects of attack.
According to the army, the violations include the burning of nine civilian vehicles, attack and burning of four civilian companies’ equipment and facilities, the murder of a civilian and the harassment of another civilian.
The four violations against soldiers and Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGUs) were the mutilation of the remains of three soldiers in violation of Article 3.4 of Part 4 of the agreement and the killings of three soldiers and a CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA), who were off-duty, unarmed and in civilian clothes in violation of Article 4.1 of Part 4 of CARHRIHL, the army said.
The civilian vehicles burned by the CPP-NPA include five Yellow Bus Line buses, a Husky bus, one passenger van, an elf truck and one dump truck. The attacks on civilian companies were the burning of heavy equipment of three construction companies and the packing plant of DOLE-STANFILCO.
The alleged violations were committed from February last year to January this year.
Copies of the formal complaints were forwarded to the Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) of CARHRIHL; Secretary Silvestre Bello, Chairman of GPH-Negotiating Panel; and Fidel Agcaoili, Chairman of the NDFP panel, the army said.
“We likewise urge other government agencies to assist the victims of these senseless violence committed by the CPP-NPA against the Filipino people, so that appropriate complaints can be filed not only in the JMC but also in the proper courts,” Capt. Rhyan Batchar, 10ID spokesperson, said in a statement.