TACLOBAN CITY — The military has denied allegations by militant groups that the rights of local farmers were violated during the conduct of airstrike against New People’s Army (NPA) camps in Northern Samar last week.

Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III, commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan, said the airstrike in Las Navas early morning of 26 October was in accordance with the International Humanitarian Law.

“The operation was planned meticulously and executed precisely to ensure that only the terrorist camp is destroyed in order to stop the bomb making activities of the NPA and also to stop them from further terrorizing helpless civilians,” Diñoso said.

Diñoso added the Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and will never put the lives of Filipinos in danger.

He said the NPA encampment that was targeted was a bomb-making camp of the terrorists.

Bomb components such as anti-tank mines, blasting caps and wires were found at the site.

It was laced with booby traps of explosives that would be fatal not only to foot soldiers but to civilians as well.

The lair was also a hiding place of NPA rebels after they attack military bases and soldiers doing community service and protection patrols in Samar areas.

Diñoso added that the site was in an uninhabited part of the town, about two kilometers away from the nearest community of Barangay Caputoan.

The successful airstrike of the military against the NPA camp was met with condemnation from human rights group Katungod Northern Samar, the local chapter of leftist Karapatan.

In a statement sent to media, Katungod Northern Samar said the airstrike was an “overkill” and has caused fear and trauma on residents of nearby villages.

The group said the air attack on the rebel camp “may cause widespread damage to the environment as well as the livelihood of farmers who rely on land for subsistence.”

Diñoso said the information about the NPA lair was provided by nearby residents themselves who have been victims of extortion, threats and intimidation by these NPA terrorists.

Meanwhile, three NPA rebels were believed to have been killed after clashing with elements of the Army’s 1st Infantry Battalion in Mauban town, Quezon on Tuesday.

The latest encounter happened along Barangay Abu-abu where about 10 NPA rebels engaged the Army troops to a five-minute firefight.

No casualty was reported on the government side while at least three NPA rebels were allegedly killed in the encounter.

Tuesday’s clash was the fourth in Quezon during the past weeks.

Brig. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, commander of the Army’s 2nd ID, said that the series of clashes in Southern Tagalog Region only proves the effectivity of the government’s whole-of-nation approach to end insurgency.