Law pushed vs training of children as assassins

MANILA, Philippines – A neophyte party-list group yesterday called on Congress to pass a bill that will criminalize the act of training children to be assassins as this is not covered by any existing child protection laws.

The Akap Bata party-list group issued the call following reports that children were being trained by the Ampatuan clan to become assassins in the province of Maguindanao.

The Ampatuans, led by Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., were accused of masterminding the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last Nov. 23.

The group said this case is “one of the worst forms of child labor as children are being molded to become guns-for-hire.”

Akap Bata secretary-general Arlene Brosas alleged that minors were being trained and used, through the Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO), to conduct ambuscades and killings against the political rivals of the Ampatuans.

Brosas said there is need for the government to legislate a specific measure that will treat this kind of maltreatment to children as a heinous crime as this is not covered by any existing child protection laws.

“It is the moral obligation of the government to send our children toward a better life ahead of them,” Brosas said.

In an exclusive interview with the ABS-CBN network, a man currently being held in a Manila prison for murder came forward to tell the story of how he had been working as an assassin for the Ampatuan clan since he was 12 years old.

Alias “Abdul” alleged that he had killed hundreds of people for the Ampatuans and had taken part in raids on entire villages. –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star)