Coni Ledesma
Head, Special Office for the Protection of Children
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ Special Office for the Protection of Children (SOPC) denounces the latest war crime committed by the Manila government in the killing of 17-year-old Rey Almario Belan last 16 June 2023. Just two days since the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) massacred the Fausto family in Himamaylan including two children aged 12 and 15, reports surface of another minor shot dead by military forces this time in Masbate.
According to reports from the ground, Rey and his friends were hunting for food when fascist soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (2nd IBPA) open fired at them followed by the ignition of two bombs. Rey was hit four times, three times in the body and once in the knee.
In attempts to cover up their tracks, the AFP again concocted a convoluted tale of Rey being killed in a clash with the New People’s Army. These claims have been refuted by his companions who survived the incident and Rey’s family. It is nothing but lies meant to obfuscate the fact that the AFP, headed by their commander-in-chief Marcos Jr., killed another minor in cold blood.
Rey is the latest youth-victim in a string of killings committed by the US-Marcos regime. There must be no letup in holding this fascist regime accountable for its utter disregard of international humanitarian law. One youth killed is one too many, and no amount of cover-up can wash the blood off Marcos Jr’s hands.
