‘No ideology can justify rights violations,’ CHR says after suspected NPA attack in Eastern Samar

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) underscored on Friday that no ideology can justify violations of human rights following an attack by suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Eastern Samar.

CHR deputy spokesperson Marc Louis Siapno said suspected NPA members ambushed state forces in the town of Jipapad on Wednesday morning, killing three and injuring around four others from the government side.

The NPA was said to have used an improvised explosive device (IED) as well.

The CHR said it would pursue an independent probe into the incident.

“We reiterate that no ideology can justify violations of human rights nor be used as a reason to excuse themselves from any accountability,” Siapno said.

He also stressed that even non-State actors must comply with international humanitarian law alongside the government.

“In this incident, the indiscriminate use of IEDs, including landmines, continues to fail in distinguishing between civilians and combatants and protect especially civilians and communities from the ill effects of armed conflict,” Siapno said.

The CHR previously condemned the NPA's use of IEDs after a landmine blast in Masbate claimed the life of 21-year-old football player Kieth Absalon and his cousin.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) later admitted that the Masbate incident violated international law.—AOL, GMA News