THE military has rescued three “child warriors,” aged 10 to 12 years old, following an encounter with members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in a remote village in the province of Surigao del Sur.
The encounter between combined troops of 29th, 36th, and 75th Infantry Battalions and members of Guerilla Front 19-B Northern Mindanao Regional Committee of the NPA took place in the jungle of Barangay Pung-on, San Agustin, Surigao del Sur.
In a report to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) high command, Maj. Gen. Victor Felix, commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division, identified the children as Reynaldo Jimenez, 12, and his brother, Robert, 10 and Jefferson Galdiano, 10, all residents of said village.
The encounter left two NPA members dead; there was no casualty on the government side.
“This is concrete evidence that NPA has been recruiting children and using them as warriors in the frontlines,” Felix said as he condemned the communist group’s continuous recruitment and use of child warriors on the frontline in its struggle.
Under the Geneva Convention, Felix stressed, children should be protected and deserve to live a life away from violence.
On May 29, elements of the 402nd Infantry Brigade recovered the remains of an NPA child warrior who was left behind by his comrades after an encounter in Barangay Tubigon, Sibagat, Agusan del Norte.
The division spokesman, Major Eugenio Julio Osias IV, said that the NPA has long been recruiting children to augment its dwindling ranks.
Osias appealed for support to the communities to help the military put an end to the inhumane use of children as warriors by immediately reporting to authorities about such recruitment activities.
Records from the AFP’s Civil Relations Service showed that over the last 12 years, the military has neutralized a total of 340 child warriors, aged 15 to 18.
Of the number, 209 surrendered, 119 were captured, and 12 were killed in combat.
According to the office of the deputy chief of staff for intelligence or J2, the NPA membership has dwindled to less than 4,600 as of the latest count from 4,700 as of end December 2010 and more were still sending feelers of their desire to leave the underground movement.
Bulk of the 4,600 NPAs are based in Davao, Caraga, Bicol and Southern Tagalog regions. –WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL, Manila Times
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