The number of child soldiers in the Philippines could further increase, amid reports the Daesh group is recruiting young Filipino-Muslims in the south, officials said on Tuesday.
The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) said this could be averted if the government continues to pursue the peace process by engaging in talks with various rebel groups.
“Mindanao in the south has many armed groups. If the ISIS [Daesh] has recruited Filipino-Muslims there, I’m sure these would include children,” Romeo Dongeto, Executive Director of (PLCPD), which has taken the cudgel for children caught between warring parties in conflict areas, told Gulf News.
“During political conflict children die, or they lose families, health facilities, schools, and are vulnerable to sexual abuse and recruitment by warring parties,” said Dongeto, adding, “Children seized by government security forces in war zones are woefully rehabilitated — they become assets of drug lords and gun runners, or part of military apparatus as spies and cooks.”
“The peace process is one option to spare our children from war,” said Congressman Teddy Baguilat, adding the non-passage of a proposed law to implement the 2014 political settlement between the Philippine government and the 38-year old Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf rebels) “should not discourage the government and peace advocates from pushing for peace and the legislation of peace settlements”.
gulfnews.com
