THE Joint Task Force (JTF)-Central has been ordered to file legal charges against those responsible for recruiting minors into the New People's Army (NPA) in Sultan Kudarat.
Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), issued the order to the JFF-Central following the arrest of two wounded NPA child combatants in a follow-up operation in the early hours of Saturday, June 21, in Barangay Datu Ito Andong, Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat.
Troops from Alpha Company of the 37th Infantry Battalion (37IB) launched the follow-up operation based on information from concerned residents, after a firefight on June 19 between government troops and NPA rebels.
A soldier from the 37IB was killed and three high-ranking NPA rebels were left dead by their comrades during the clash on Thursday, June 19, in Barangay Datu Ito Andong, Kalamansig.
The two arrested NPA child combatants were identified as alias Ka Digbay, 16, who sustained a gunshot wound to the right shin, and alias Ka Mario, 17, who suffered a spinal injury. They were taken to the Kalamansig Rural Health Unit and later transferred to Camp Siongco Station Hospital in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Digbay and Mario belong to the NPA's Sub-Regional Committee (SRC)-Daguma of the Far-South Mindanao Region (FSMR) and were among the NPA elements left behind by fleeing comrades.
Troops also recovered an M16 rifle and three magazines from their possession.
Nafarrete strongly denounced the continued recruitment and use of minors as combatants by the NPAs.
"The employment of child warriors is a blatant violation of the International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law. It perpetuates the cycle of violence by normalizing the exploitation of the young and blurring moral boundaries in conflict zones," Nafarrete said.
He said the recruitment of IP into the armed struggle is an inhumane and deceptive tactic that destroys communities and deprives the youth of their future.
He also called on communities to remain vigilant and report any signs of child recruitment or suspicious militant activity that lure the youth into joining the Communist Terrorist Group. (SunStar Zamboanga)