By: Jessica Ties
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 MANILA, Philippines –The Philippine army is facing allegations that they have been falsely claiming that children taken into custody are rebel “child warriors” of the rebel New People’s Army.

According to Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, “[t]he army is concocting stories of rebel child soldiers that are putting children at risk for propaganda purposes.”

Since June 2010, according to Human Rights Watch, there have been at least six cases involving twelve children in which the children were not only taken into custody but also publicly exposed to the media as captured rebel combatants. This public exposure is not only a violation of Philippine law, but is also a violation of international law which prohibits the exposure of captured combatants to the public and the media.

In one case, three young boys were detained by soldiers while doing chores and then publicly declared to be rebel child soldiers. One of the children illustrated his experience by stating, “[t]he soldiers shook me…they were trying to force me to admit we had planted a bomb…they tied my hands together…I was afraid.”

One of the other boys stated that the soldiers pushed him to the ground and told him that they would kill his father if he did not give them the names of other rebels.

In some cases, the children were detained by the army for days or weeks before being surrendered to the Department of Social Welfare and Development as required by Philippine law.

In July, a fourteen year old boy and his younger sister were taken into custody while on vacation in Northern Samar. The children were then publicly declared rebels and the younger child was kept in the army camp for three weeks. While detained, she was forced to do laundry and other chores before being released to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The social welfare and development officer found no evidence to support claims that the children were recruited by the rebel and reported that this conclusion can be supported by school records.

Often, children and their families have reported experiencing continued harassment and intimidation by the Philippine army following their release. One mother reported that the continued harassment forced her to relocate her children after members of the army came to her home and asked her to take her children to the military camp to sign “unspecified papers.”

The armed forces public affairs office chief, Col. Arnulfo Burgos, has combated the allegations by stating that falsifying information has never been accepted or tolerated and if “…soldiers are ground to be falsifying documents or fabricating evidences, we will not hesitate to punish them.”

Despite the assurance of Burgos, Elaine Pearson has warned that “[t]he use of child soldiers in the Philippines is a matter of grave concern that the government should be taking seriously.”

The battle between the government and the rebels has been ongoing since the Communist Party of the Philippines began a campaign to seize power in 1969. The conflict has claimed the lives of countless civilians who were caught in the crossfire or fell victim to atrocities.

 

For more information, please see:

ABS-CBN News – AFP Denies Lying About NPA ‘Child Warriors’ – 12 October 2011

Arab News – Philippine Army Falsely Tags Children as Rebels: HRW – 12 October 2011

Philippine Daily Inquirer – Rights Group Accuses Army of Fabricating Stories on Child Warriors – 12 October 2011

Human Rights Watch – Philippines: Army Falsely Tags Children as Rebels – 11 October 2011

Reuters – Philippine Rebels Must Stop Targeting Civilians – Rights Group – 5 October 2011