DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 16, 2012) – An army officer was killed and three others wounded in a roadside bombing in the southern Philippines, officials said on Saturday.
Officials said the attack, which occurred before midnight Friday, was carried out by the communist New People’s Army rebels.
The soldiers were on heading to their camp in New Bataan town in Compostela Valley province when the explosion occurred, said Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.
He said the rebels used a landmine in the attack. “The landmine was laid on the concrete highway 100 meters away from the Iglesia ni Kristo church and about 300 meters from a school,” Paniza said.
He said the rebels violated the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law which the communist group was a signatory.
“This malevolent violation of the CARHRIHL is indicative that the New People’s Army is very desperate and ignores what their representative signed up for. They were unmindful if the landmine kills innocent civilians,” Paniza said.
He identified the lone fatality in the attack as Lt. Rodel Daguio, who died while undergoing medical operation. Daguio was supposed to return to his family in Davao City to celebrate Father’s Day.
The wounded were PFC. Richie Ursal, of 4th Scout Ranger Company, and Sgt. Arnold Pacino and Cpl. Jaime Clara, of the 1001st Infantry Brigade.
There was no immediate statement from the NPA, which is fighting for the past decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
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