The latest official report of the United Nations secretary general on the situation of children and armed conflict in the Philippines reflect a mere fraction of the crimes of the Philippine government and its armed forces. The report blatantly whitewashes the bloody record of the former Duterte regime and the current Marcos regime. The report even “praises the continued efforts of the GRP on the protection of children.”
The report cited 58 serious cases of child rights violations with 43 child victims from January 2022 to December 2023. However, only 10 cases were attributed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (7 cases), Philippine National Police (1 case), and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency with the National Task Force-Elcac (2 cases).
The UN data is significantly far from the true and actual number of child rights violations. Ang Bayan’s records found at least 486 cases of child rights violations committed by military, police, and government agencies in the Philippines during the same period. The number of child victims reached 112,527.
Seven children were killed, four were victims of attempted murder, nine were abducted, 35 were arrested and detained, and 33 were physically assaulted. Among the victims were Argie Salvador (17) who was killed on February 11, 2023, in Camarines Norte; the Fausto siblings (12 and 15) along with their parents who were killed on June 14, 2023, in Negros Occidental; and Carling Belan (17) who was killed on June 16, 2023, in Masbate.
The military accused Salvador and Belan of being New People’s Army (NPA) members killed in an encounter. However, their relatives and community strongly refuted this. The killing of the Fausto siblings was blamed on the NPA despite strong evidence that they were massacred by the 94th IB. Meanwhile, the AFP used the children of NPA members to force the latter’s surrender.
AFP forces’ bombing, shelling, and strafing in the countryside traumatized thousands of children. The military’s food blockade during combat operations starved over 13,000 children. Cases of AFP encampment in schools also affected the education of children.
Ang Bayan’s initial data for 2024 counted 417 cases of child rights violations committed by state forces with 27,278 child victims.
Compliance of the revolutionary movement
The revolutionary movement strictly adheres to the principles of war and international humanitarian law. This counters the same report’s claim that the NPA committed 41% of the cases “recorded” by the UN. The report accused the NPA of recruiting and using child soldiers, killing or harming children, rape, and sexual violence, and abduction.
“We reiterate that the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the entire revolutionary movement are committed to upholding and protecting the rights and welfare of children in all aspects of our struggle,” NDFP Special Office for the Protection of Children head Ka Coni Ledesma responded to the UN report.
Ledesma said this is clearly enshrined in NDFP’s Program of Action and Declaration on the Rights and Welfare of Children, which expressly prohibits the recruitment of children under the age of 18 as Red fighters. “These principles align with, and often exceed, the standards set by international humanitarian law,” added Ledesma.
The prohibition on child recruitment is also stated in the policies of the Communist Party of the Philippines since 1988, a year ahead of the creation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. “These policies are strictly observed by NPA units in guerrilla zones and local organs of political power across the country,” Ledesma said.
