Various government agencies in the defense, security, and peace sectors slammed on Tuesday, June 6, the recent explosion allegedly orchestrated by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Las Navas, Northern Samar which killed two civilians.
(Photo courtesy of 803rd Brigade, 8th Infantry Division)
Roel Lebico and Jerson Cabe, both residents of Barangay Quirino, Las Navas, died when an anti-personnel mine (APM) believed to have been planted by members of the NPA’s Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC) suddenly went off in Brgy. Magsaysay last June 3. The victims also sustained gunshot wounds, according to the military.
Lebico and Cabe were construction workers who had been hired in an ongoing farm-to-market road project in Las Navas.
“The use of anti-personnel mines in the said attack is emblematic of the utter disregard for the safety of civilians and the violation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by the CTG [communist terrorist group],” DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said.
“The unfortunate deaths of Roel Lebico and Jerson Cabe, who had just then finished a day of honest work, further cement the viciousness of the CTG in perpetrating their violent crimes against the Filipino people. This must come to an end,” he added.
Meanwhile, Col. Medel Aguilar, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), condoled with the families of the victims as he vowed that the military will hunt down the perpetrators of the attack.
“We enjoin every peace-loving Filipino in calling out the CTG for their terroristic act against unarmed and innocent individuals. The CTG is in a desperate position following the huge losses they incurred in the Visayas region. To this, we have heightened our vigilance against similar attacks as we continue our pursuit of the remaining communist terrorists in the area,” he said.
For Office of the Presidential Peace Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Isidro Purisima, the attack was an “inhumane method” by NPA “to sow fear, anger and mistrust among our people.”
“They have no room in a peaceful, civil and humane society. We therefore call on those responsible for the attack to put an end to this cycle of violence. There is no justification for your actions, the repercussions of which are irreparable and irreversible,” Purisima added.
The explosion in Las Navas was the latest in a string of violent attacks by the NPA in Northern Samar.
The 8th Infantry Division (8ID) said that the NPA also detonated landmines in Brgy. San Miguel, Las Navas on April 17, 2019 which killed 10-year-old Armando Jay Raymond.
A community support program (CSP) team of the 20th Infantry Battalion was also hit by a landmine explosion in Brgy. San Miguel, Lavezares on April 3, 2022. Two police personnel died while four others were hurt in the incident.
Seven soldiers were also hurt at an explosion in Brgy. Magsaysay, Mapanas on July 5, 2022.
Lastly, a soldier died while five others were wounded at an explosion in the remote village of Osang in Catubig, Northern Samar on July 19, 2022.