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Key developments since May 2001: Two rebel groups continued to use antipersonnel mines – the New People’s Army and Abu Sayyaf. The government recovered a stockpile of homemade mines apparently belonging to a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front; this was the first landmine-related incident involving the MNLF since 1996. Another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, re-committed in writing to a total ban on antipersonnel mines in April 2002; however, there continued to be allegations of MILF use of mines in 2001 and 2002.
The Philippines signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 15 February 2000. The treaty entered into force on 1 August 2000. In July 2001, Hon. Neptali Gonzales II tabled national implementation legislation, House Bill 346, which prohibits the use, manufacture, acquisition, sale, and transfer of landmines.[1] This bill was still pending approval of the House of Representatives as of May 2002. Legislation previously introduced in June 2000 was not enacted.[2] House Bill 346 applies not just to antipersonnel mines, but also antivehicle mines, booby-traps, and other explosive devices.[3]
The Philippines participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties in Managua in September 2001. Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Lauro L. Baja, Jr., stated, “By participating in the Third Meeting of State Parties, the Philippine Government can lend its voice and active support to the global campaign to eradicate anti-personnel mines, especially considering that the Philippines became the spokesperson of the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention for the Asia-Pacific region during the process of campaigning for its early entry into force.”[4]
Undersecretary Baja expressed concerns on mine use by Non-State Actors: “The Philippines also recognizes that armed groups, acting against or beyond the control of States also produce, stockpile, and use landmines. This and concern for people on mined land under non-state control make it clear that an inter-state ban alone is insufficient to stop new landmines from being placed in the ground nor to clear those already planted. The Philippines supports the efforts of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) Working Group on Non-State Actors in its appeals to renounce the use of anti-personnel mines as means of warfare.... [W]e believe that full cooperation of Non-States Parties is essential in ensuring the successful implementation of the Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines.”[5]
On 20 September 2001, on the side of the Third Meeting of the States Parties, the Philippines participated in an ASEAN informal group meeting. Participants, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, agreed that the best approach to engaging ASEAN countries in landmine issues would be to focus on humanitarian aspects such as victim assistance, mine awareness, and socio-economic development for mine-affected areas.[6]
The Philippine government participated in the Regional Seminar on Stockpile Destruction of Anti-personnel Mines and other Munitions held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 8-9 August 2001. Representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines attended the meeting. The Philippines cosponsored and voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 56/24M in November 2001 endorsing the Mine Ban Treaty. The Philippines attended the January and May 2002 intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva. It also participated in the Regional Seminar on Landmines in Southeast Asia, hosted by Thailand from 13-15 May 2002.
After its initial incomplete Article 7 transparency report, the Philippines submitted a full Article 7 Report on 13 August 2001 for the period 12 September 2000 to 29 April 2001. On 5 April 2002, it submitted the required annual update Article 7 Report, covering the period from 29 April 2001 to 4 April 2002.
The Philippine Senate ratified Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional Weapons on 4 June 1996. The Philippines attended the Third Annual Conference of the States Parties to Amended Protocol II, and the Second CCW Review Conference, both in December 2001. The Philippines has not submitted its annual report required under Article 13 of Amended Protocol II.
On 10 October 2001, the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL) held a forum, “Universalizing the Mine Ban Treaty, A Post-Managua Briefing,” in Quezon City. The PCBL discussed with representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the draft national implementation law. Representatives of the governments of Cambodia and Canada, as well as other NGOs, also attended the forum. The PCBL produced a paper, “Framework for National Legislation on Anti-Personnel Mines,” with recommendations for provisions to be included in the legislation.[7]
There has been no reported use of antipersonnel mines by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) since its stockpile was destroyed in July 1998. In late January 2002, AFP Southern Command spokesperson Maj. Noel Detoyato stated that the U.S. would not bring landmines for the joint military training exercises and operations between the Philippine and U.S. military forces that began February 2002.[8] In early February 2002, Col. Horacio Lactao, Director for Training of the Philippine Army, confirmed that no antipersonnel mines would be used in the exercises, pledging that the Philippine government will abide by its international commitments, including the Mine Ban Treaty.[9]
Several newspaper reports of encounters in 2001 and early 2002 involving the Philippine military and the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front, indicate continuing use of improvised landmines by the rebel group.
An AFP list of landmine incidents from 1999 to March 2002 shows eight incidents when the AFP recovered landmines allegedly belonging to the NPA. The last recovery, of one improvised antipersonnel mine in Rizal, Cagayan, Isabela, occurred in August 2001; the other seven incidents took place in 1999 and 2000. In total, the AFP found five antipersonnel mines/improvised explosive devices, six improvised antivehicle mines, and two firing devices for Claymore mines.[14]
The NPA claims that it only uses command-detonated antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines, which are not covered by the Mine Ban Treaty. A spokesperson of the Willie Zapanta Command of the NPA in Davao Oriental said that “depriving us of the use of these command-detonated mines will further favor the...Armed Forces of the Philippines which already enjoys overwhelming advantage over the NPA in terms of number, arms and logistics.”[15] Davao Oriental was the site of renewed NPA operations and AFP counter-attacks in the first quarter of 2002. The Command’s argument echoes the April 2001 written reply to interview questions of the PCBL by Ka Julian, a CPP Central Committee member: “Anti-personnel mines covered by the anti-mine ban are not such significant offensive or defensive weapons of NPA units. Command-detonated mines, the type we use, are not covered by the ban. They prove to be valuable in preventing armored intrusions and attacks of enemy forces into NPA territories. Since we have no anti-armor weapons, we have to rely on such if we have to stop armored tanks and vehicles from entering or going through NPA territories. Most of the time, we can do with just the use of rifles and grenades. But these have no effective stopping power against armored tanks and vehicles.”[16]
A published account of the travails of a group of hostages kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on 20 March 2000 in Tumahubong, Basilan, reveals regular use of landmines by ASG. Twenty-two teachers, including a Claretian priest and 27 students, were herded off to the ASG’s Camp Abdurazzal in Mount Puno Mahadji. Children hostages said they could have escaped, but were afraid because the ASG claimed they planted landmines around the area. An adult hostage, Lydia Ajon, claimed that she saw soldiers trying to penetrate the camp, but they were hit by bullets and wounded by landmines.[17]
Fr. Cirilio Nacorda, parish priest of Lamitan, Basilan, also reported ASG use of landmines, although he did not see them plant mines during the period he was held hostage in 1994. He recalled there were areas in Mount Puno Mahadji that the ASG avoided passing through because of the mines.[18]
The government says that its soldiers have fallen victim to ASG mines. According to one report, intelligence sources claim that the ASG has built up an inventory of some 3,000 homemade landmines.[19]
On 29 November 2001, stocks of improvised explosive devices (homemade mines) were recovered at the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao government complex in Cabatangan, Zamboanga, after armed loyalists of the ousted chair of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Nur Misuari, withdrew from the complex.[20] While no use of mines was reported, this is the first landmine-related incident involving the MNLF since it forged a Peace Agreement in September 1996 with the Philippine government.
The AFP Southern Command reportedly recovered from the government complex occupied by the MNLF five improvised antipersonnel mines, 10 antivehicle mines, and 200 kilos of improvised explosives, among other items.[21] Members from the Army’s Explosives and Ordnance Division and the Police Anti-Crime Task Force cleared the complex of explosives and landmines using metal detectors and mine-detection dogs.[22] A soldier posted at the checkpoint during the clearing operation said the area was heavily mined.[23]
A former MNLF official who did not wish to be identified claimed that the explosives found came from a fishing vessel apprehended by the military a day before and utilized by the Army to prevent the fielding of reinforcements by MNLF-Misuari supporters.[24] There is no evidence, however, to substantiate this claim. The Army denied this counter-accusation.[25]
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the NGO Geneva Call’s “Deed of Commitment” banning the use of antipersonnel mines in March 2000. As reported in Landmine Monitor Report 2001, there continued to be allegations of MILF use of mines in 2000 and early 2001.[26]
In an abandoned training camp of the MILF, discovered in early 2001 in Maguindanao, 16th Infantry Battalion soldiers reportedly found improvised landmines, as well as 40 rocket-propelled grenades, rifle grenades, bomb-making materials, and fuses of mortars.[27]
In August 2001, peace negotiations resumed and a cease-fire agreement was forged in Malaysia. However, an Agence France Press report of 24 March 2002 said that five improvised mines, believed to be planted by the MILF, were recovered following clashes between the group and the AFP in southern Philippines.[28]
Geneva Call, in coordination with the PCBL, concluded in April 2002 an international fact-finding mission regarding mine-planting by the MILF.[29] However, specific landmine incidents reported by the AFP, and landmines recovered being attributed by the AFP to the MILF, could not be independently verified as members of the mission were unable to travel to Mindanao.
The MILF nonetheless signed an expanded “Deed of Commitment” under Geneva Call on 7 April 2002. MILF Vice-Chairman for Military Affairs, Chief of Staff of its Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, and MILF Peace Panel Chair Al Haj Murad was the person who signed of the new Deed. The Deed commits the MILF to a total and unconditional ban on antipersonnel mines, whereas before the MILF justified mine use on “defensive and discriminate” grounds.
The Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas (RPM-P, Revolutionary Party of Workers-Philippines) is a breakaway group from the NPA/CPP, and operates largely in the Visayas group of islands. The RPM-P signed the Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment to a total ban on landmines on 10 April 2001. The RPM-P has a standing cease-fire and peace agreement with the Philippine government since December 2000.
In response to a request for a report on compliance by the Geneva Call, RPM-P Central Committee Chair Andres Nava wrote that the RPM-P is reiterating its “unwavering belief and commitment” to a total ban on antipersonnel mines. The RPM-P also declared that no landmines were employed in six encounters with the New People’s Army.[30] (Hostility between the two groups erupts intermittently.)
In the AFP’s Landmine Incident Journal, it reported at least 23 mine incidents occurred between 26 April 2001 and 1 April 2002 in different parts of Mindanao (Misamis Oriental, Maguindanao, Sulu, Cotabato, Davao Oriental, Agusan del Sur, General Santos City), Western Samar in the Visayas, and Cagayan Valley in Luzon. The journal alternately described the mines as improvised landmines, improvised antivehicle mines, landmines fashioned from an 81mm/60mm mortar, improvised Claymore mines, or simply anti-personnel mines or landmines.[31] There is no way to determine which armed group was responsible for each incident.
In its April 2002 Article 7 transparency report, the Philippine government reported that no antipersonnel mines had been obtained, procured, or manufactured by AFP since July 1998. It also reported destruction of its entire antipersonnel mine stockpile of 2,460 Claymore mines in July 1998, and that it was retaining no mines for development or training purposes.[32]
Landmine Monitor reported last year that the AFP was considering acquiring new Claymore mines, but according to Col. William Estrada of the Office of Chief Ordnance and Chemical Services, they decided not to re-stock after conferring with the PCBL.[33]
However, a military spokesperson told Landmine Monitor in January 2002 that some military personnel in fact did possess Claymore mines. He clarified that these were used in command-detonated mode.[34] The statement raises doubts as to whether all mines in the AFP stockpile were destroyed and/or if new Claymore mines have been acquired. Some Claymore mines may also have fallen into the possession of rebel groups like the NPA as suggested by the incident on 28 February 2002 (see section on NPA Mine Use).
The AFP has conducted several small-scale clearing operations for mines and UXO in affected areas in Mindanao since 2001, but implementation and mapping have not been very systematic. In any case, there are no large-scale mined areas; mines are found sporadically, usually around rebel camps or battle areas.
At the Third Meeting of the States Parties, the Philippines offered “to extend humanitarian assistance to the global anti-personnel mines campaign by contributing technical experts for demining projects being implemented by the United Nations and other international organizations in mine-affected countries.”[35]
Balay, Inc., a human rights group involved in rehabilitation efforts in Central Mindanao, reported that evacuees from the villages of Sarakan, Sapal, Sarmiento, Tiba, Langkong, and Minantao, all in Matanog, Maguindanao, refused to return to their homes because of fear of landmine explosions. Hundreds of war refugees are temporarily residing along the Narciso Ramos Highway. They have been prohibited by the military from going beyond one kilometer from the highway because of the danger of mines. Balay, Inc. has called on the government to clear the war-affected villages of landmines.[36]
Landmines and shrapnel in farms in five war-ravaged towns in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao provinces have been slowing down government efforts to reopen these lands to agricultural production.
The PCBL initiated a negotiation with the MILF and the Philippine government for a collaborative demining effort in mine-affected areas in Mindanao, notably in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao. The proposal for joint mine clearance operations was also discussed by PCBL representative Alfredo Lubang with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a dinner meeting of peace advocates at the Malacanang Palace on 18 January 2002. President Macapagal Arroyo expressed interest in the proposal and immediately instructed the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process to explore the mechanics of joint clearing as part of the government’s confidence building measure with the MILF. Consultations are being made in coordination with Geneva Call, the Swiss Federation for Mine Action, the MILF and the government, for mine mapping and clearing of affected areas in Maguindanao, Cotabato, and Lanao.
In 2001, there were reports of 22 new casualties in at least six mine and UXO incidents: two were killed and 20 injured. Five were civilians, including one 11-year-old child, and 17 were military personnel or police officers. In addition, 18 soldiers died and 10 were wounded in an ambush in November 2001, but it is not clear if casualties were due to the impact of the antivehicle mine explosion or other weapons used in the ambush.[37] In 2000, the AFP reported 64 new casualties, of which 11 died and 53 were injured, including 19 civilians.[38]
On 30 June 2001, in the western part of Poblacion (Barangay Bugasan), Matanog, Maguindanao, four corn farmers clearing land with the slash-and-burn method were injured by an explosion triggered by the fire set to burn the grass. Since the area was heavily bombed by the military in the offensive launched against the MILF in 2000, it was not ascertained whether the explosion was due to landmines planted by the MILF or UXO from military planes.[39]
The casualties were brought to the nearby DIGS (Development Initiative of the Government for Society) hospital in Parang, Maguindanao, however, the hospital did not have adequate facilities to treat the injuries, so the casualties were then transported to the Cotabato Regional Hospital in an ambulance. One survivor lost his left eye and spent three months out of work as a result of the incident. The Department of Social Welfare and Development gave P1,000 (approx. US$20) assistance to each of the survivors. They were also treated and given free medicine by Red Cross medical missions.
On 16 June 2001, in the same area of Matanog, Maguindanao, a 40-year-old farmer, the father of eight children, was harvesting coconuts when one hit the ground, triggering an explosion. He was brought first to the DIGS hospital and later transferred to the Cotabato Regional Hospital for treatment of multiple shrapnel injuries.[40]
In June 2001, in an NPA-related landmine incident in Occidental Mindoro, two police officers died and a third police officer was injured.[41] Several incidents were reported by the AFP/DND: on 9 March 2001, two enlisted personnel (EP) were injured in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, after an improvised mine believed to have been planted by the MILF exploded; on 10 October 2001, eight EPs and two officers were injured after a landmine was detonated by their vehicle in Indanan, Sulu; and on 11 November 2001, two soldiers were injured following a landmine explosion while conducting mine clearance in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.[42]
AFP landmine casualties in Central Mindanao are transported by helicopter to the Camp Navarro General Hospital for emergency treatment. They are subsequently referred to the V. Luna AFP Medical Center in Quezon City for prostheses and rehabilitation.[43]
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[1] The title is “An Act Prohibiting the Use, Manufacture, Acquisition, Sale, and Deployment of Landmines and Prescribing Penalties Therefore.” Sanctions include: 20 years and one day to 40 years of reclusion perpetua if a prohibited act causes death; 12 years and one day to 20 years of reclusion temporal if no death but serious injuries are sustained; and six years and one day to 20 years of prison mayor for violations not resulting in death and serious injury. If the offender is a military officer, additional penalties are prescribed, including dishonorable discharge from the service.
[2] This was House Bill No. 222, “An Act Prohibiting the Use, Manufacture, Sale and Deployment of Landmines and Prescribing Penalties Therefore.” See, Article 7 Report, 5 April 2002; and, Statement of Lauro L. Baja, Jr., Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, to the Third Meeting of State Parties, Managua, Nicaragua, 19 September 2001.
[3] “Landmine” in this bill is defined as, “any munition placed under, on or near the ground or other surface area and designed to be detonated or exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or vehicle including mines laid to interdict beaches, waterway crossings or river crossings, but does not apply to the use of anti-ship mines at sea or in inland waterways; it shall also include: (1) booby trap which is a device or material designed, constructed or adapted to kill or injure unexpectedly when a person disturbs or approaches an apparently harmless object or performs an apparent safe act; (2) other devices which are manually-emplaced munitions and devices designed to kill, injure or damage and which are actuated by remote control or automatically after a lapse of time.”
[4] Statement of Lauro L. Baja, Jr., Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, to the Third Meeting of State Parties, Managua, Nicaragua, 19 September 2001.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Article 7 Report, 5 April 2002.
[7] Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines, “Framework for National Legislation on Anti-Personnel Mines,” 10 October 2001.
[8] Interview with Maj. Noel Detoyato, Southern Command Headquarters, Zamboanga City, 25 January 2002.
[9] Academe Meets Government Series 2002, “The Return of G.I. Joe, US Troops in Mindanao,” organized by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, Philippine Center for Policy Studies, Quezon City, 7 February 2002.
[10] Alfred Dizon, Joel J. Jabal and Ferdinand Zuasola, “Rebels kill 4 soldiers, 2 cops,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 14 June 2001, p.12.
[11] Ferdinand O. Zuasola, “18 soldiers killed in NPA ambush,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 19 November 2001, p.1. It was not reported if the deaths and injuries were due to the mine explosion or the other weapons.
[12] Vicente S. Labro and Cynthia A. Borgueta, “Samar cop chief, town’s entire police force sacked after raid,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2 March 2002, p.12.
[13] Edwin O. Fernandez, “NPA rebel killed,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 March 2002, p.17.
[14] “Landmining Incidents (1999-Mar 2002),” provided by AFP Colonel Levy Zamora of the 45th Infantry Brigade based in San Mariano, Isabela, in Northern Luzon, to the PCBL, postmarked 25 March 2002.
[15] Ferdinand Zuasola, “NPA leader justifies use of landmines vs. military,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 April 2002.
[16] Written response by Ka Julian, Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines, 28 April 2001.
[17] Jose Torres, Jr., Into the Mountains: Hostaged by the Abu Sayyaf (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2001), pp. 53, 97.
[18] Interview with Fr. Cirilia Nacorda, Lamitan, Basilan, 26 January 2002.
[19] Yael Shahar, “Libya and the Jolo Hostages, Seeking a new image, or polishing the old one?,” 20 August 2000.
[20] Julie S. Alipala and Rolly A. San Juan, “Misuari HQ a bomb factory, AFP finds out,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1 December 2001, pp.1, 21.
[21] Ibid. The report referred to five “gallons” of mines. The cache was also shown in television footages aired by the news program, TV Patrol, ABS-CBN Channel 2 on 29 November 2001.
[22] Interview with Maj. Noel Detoyato, Southern Command Headquarters, Zamboanga City, 25 January 2002.
[23] Al Jacinto, “Soldiers clear Cabatangan,” Zamboanga Today, 30 November 2001, p.2.
[24] Interview with a former MNLF State Secretary, Zamboanga City, 24 January 2002.
[25] Interview with Maj. Noel Detoyato, Southern Command Headquarters, Zamboanga City, 25 January 2002.
[26] Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp. 473-474.
[27] Edwin O. Fernandez, “Soldiers stumble on abandoned camp of MILF,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 February 2001, p.17.
[28] “Five killed in southern Philippines fighting,” Agence France Press, 24 March 2002.
[29] The mission was headed by retired Indian general Dipankar Banerjee and coordinated by Atty. Soliman Santos, Jr., Director for Asia of Geneva Call. The four other members of the mission were Frenchman Andre-Marc Farineau of the Swiss Federation for Mine Action, Prof. Miriam Coronel Ferrer of the PCBL, Faiz Mohammad Fayyaz of the Pakistan Campaign to Ban Landmines, and Alfredo Lubang of the Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute.
[30] Letter of Andres Nava, Chairperson, Central Committee of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas, to Elisabeth Reusse-Decrey, President of Geneva Call, 7 January 2002.
[31] The AFP’s Ordnance and Chemical Services Landmine Incident Journal (CY 2002). The copy given to PCBL and Geneva Call in April 2002 also included landmine-related incidents that took place in 1999 and 2000.
[32] Article 7 Report, 5 April 2002.
[33] Statement made during the PCBL-organized forum on “Universalizing the Mine Ban Treaty, A Post- Managua Briefing,” Quezon City, 10 October 2001. This public statement was a reiteration of information given to the PCBL by Col. Estrada in August 2001.
[34] Interview with Maj. Noel Detoyato, Southern Command Headquarters, Zamboanga City, 25 January 2002.
[35] Statement of the Honorable Lauro L. Baja, Jr., Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, to the Third Meeting of State Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty, Managua, Nicaragua, 19 September 2001.
[36] Aquiles Zonio, “Landmines scourge of Mindanao folk,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, 31 October 2001, p.13.
[37] Ferdinand O. Zuasola, “18 soldiers killed in NPA ambush”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 19 November 2001, p.1. See also Ferdinand Zuasola, “NPA leader justifies use of landmines vs. military”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 April 2002. The latter report, however, said that the incident occurred in December 2001.
[38] See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 476.
[39] Landmine Monitor interview with survivors in Barangay Bugasan, Matanog, Maguindanao, 17 November 2001. See also Aquiles Zonio, “Landmines scourge of Mindanao folk”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 31 October 2001, p.13. However, the newspaper story wrongly reported that the casualties were killed in the explosion.
[40] Landmine Monitor interview with landmine survivor, Matanaog, Maguindanao, 17 November 2002. See also Aquiles Zonio, “Landmines scourge of Mindanao folk”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 31 October 2001, p.13.
[41] Alfred Dizon, Joel J. Jabal and Ferdinand Zuasola, “Rebels kill 4 soldiers, 2 cops”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 14 June 2001, p.12.
[42] AFP Landmine Incident Journal (CY 2002). Other victims were reported for the years 1999 and 2000. However, in a number of cases it is not clear if the cause of injury or death is directly attributable to mines, and whether the mines were antipersonnel or antitank.
[43] Interview with Maj. Noel Detoyato, Southern Command Headquarters, Zamboanga City, 25 January 2002.
