Photographs posted by the Army online show that children were on the top of military armored vehicles, while some of them were assisted by soldiers in holding long firearms.
CAGAYAN DE ORO — Groups advocating for the rights and empowerment of Filipino children have expressed opposition to the military-led activities exposing children in Maramag, Bukidnon, to their firearms and mobility assets.
On January 15, the Philippine Army’s 89th Infantry Battalion (89IB) facilitated an educational tour at their headquarters in Barangay South Poblacion, with 150 preschool students from Child Development Centers in Barangay North Poblacion as their participants.
Another similar activity was also conducted by the same Army unit on January 20 participated by 50 preschool students from Child Development Centers in Barangay Base Camp. Teachers and parents were also in attendance at all of the activities.
The 89IB presented a demonstration of squad capabilities, a firearms display, and an orientation on the unit’s mobility assets. It stated that the activity aims to instill in the minds of children the military’s role in maintaining peace and order.
Salinlahi, an alliance of advocacy groups for children’s rights, denounced these learning tours.
It claimed that interactions between the military and children have never been positive, citing cases of alleged human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) violations against children allegedly perpetrated by AFP from the past years.
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A report of the UN Security Council Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Philippines showed that 13 killings and 12 maiming of children were verified from January 2022 to December 2023, of which 44 percent of the total cases were from Mindanao.
Violators of nearly half of these cases remained unidentified, but the others were perpetrated by both state and non-state armed groups.
Salinlahi cited the killing of 9-year-old Kylene Casao, 14-year-old JP Osabel, and 17-year-old Rey Belan by alleged AFP soldiers as among the reported children rights violations under the Marcos Jr administration.
“The cases mentioned are only a small fraction of the systemic and systematic attack on the rights of Filipino children under Marcos Jr.’s administration. It does not include the numerous cases of torture, abduction, harassment, illegal detention, illegal arrests, and bombings,” the child rights group said.
Photographs posted by the Army online show that children were on the top of military armored vehicles, while some of them were assisted by soldiers in holding long firearms.
The Save Our Schools Network, an alliance of child-focused and church-based organizations in Mindanao, was alarmed about this, asserting that children should be protected from armed influence.
It urged the Department of Education, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Council for the Welfare of Children to launch an independent and transparent investigation into military activities involving Filipino children.
The 89IB stated that the activities were “carefully managed” and “age-appropriate.”
The Parent’s Alternative on Early Childhood Care and Development Incorporated (PAECCDI), which also opposed the activities, acknowledged the children’s rights to age-appropriate awareness. But exposing them to guns and military assets under the pretext of “community engagement” remains questionable.
“We assert that the promotion of ‘nation-building’ among children must be carried out in a scientific and sensitive manner with the appropriate measures to ensure the protection of children from all forms of violence,” PAECCDI wrote in a Facebook post. (DAA)
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