“This is the latest instance of a war crime perpetrated by the CPP-NPA,” Roque says
(Eagle News) – The Palace on Tuesday condemned the shooting of a civilian aircraft by Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) rebels in Surigao del Sur, an act it called a “war crime.”
The incident on Sunday led to the killing of pilot Lynbert G. Laguda Sr., 65, who was merely conducting an aerial spray at the banana plantation of SUMIFRU, a Sumitomo subsidiary, in Tagbina town at that time.
Laguda managed to land the plane in the hangar but died on his way to the hospital
According to Roque, “under the laws and customs of war, fighters should not be targeting civilians and civilian objects.”
“This is the latest instance of a war crime perpetrated by the CPP-NPA,” Roque said.
Ariel Montero, spokesperson of the NPA-Northeastern Mindanao Regional Command, has said his men shot at the single-engine biplane Grumman G-164 Ag Cat agricultural aircraft as a form of punitive action.
“This practice (of aerial spraying) has been discontinued in other places like Davao City because of the people’s opposition to its proven harmful effect. But with the capitalists’ greed for profit and utter disregard of the effects on the environment and the people, Sumifru, Dole and Del Monte continue to implement this,” Montero had said.
Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte called off peace talks with the communists following what he said were their “atrocities” that included the killing of a baby.