CPP slammed the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ claim that explosives used by the NPA are banned under international humanitarian law. The claim was made in a complaint the AFP submitted to the Commission on Human Rights last March 4. “This is completely false,” says Ka Marco Valbuena, CPP chief information officer. He also added that the AFP is misrepresenting IHL.

Valbuena clarified that the NPA does not use banned weapons in waging war against the reactionary state. He explained that the NPA employs command-detonated explosives that are manually activated only in the presence of legitimate military targets. These weapons do not explode accidentally and more importantly, do not indiscriminately kill or hurt civilians.

Valbuena cited the Ottawa Treaty of 1997 which only prohibits land mines which detonate upon the presence, proximity or contact of a person. This treaty was put into place to end casualties caused by these mines among civilians, especially children.

“The AFP’s claim of the NPA violating the IHL is a PR stunt,” added Valbuena. The CPP officer stated that the NPA abides by the principle of economical use of bullets and explosive force, both to conserve its limited resources and to prevent excessive injury to enemy combatants.

Valbuena encouraged observers of international humanitarian law to look into the NPA’s use of command detonated explosives.