PAGADIAN CITY – Government soldiers recovered a 14-year old communist fighter after he was lost in the forest in Misamis Occidental’s Don Victoriano Chongbian town, officials said Tuesday.
Officials said a cattleman spotted the young unarmed rebel roaming around the village of Barangay Mansawan and quickly told the military about the boy. Members of the 10th Infantry Battalion were immediately sent to the village and found the boy who admitted being a child warrior of the New People’s Army.
During questioning, the rebel - a native of Zamboanga del Norte’s Sergio Osmeña town – told soldiers that he was recruited by his cousin in December 2018 and eventually joined the Guerilla Front Sendong – Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee operating in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental.
The young rebel said he was left behind by rebels in the forest of Mount Malindang which prompted him to search for a nearest community.
Colonel Leonel Nicolas, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, condemned the NPA for recruiting children and use them to fight the democratic government. “This clearly shows that the communist terrorist group is continuously violating the International Humanitarian Law which prohibits the recruitment and use of children in hostilities,” he said.
Major General Generoso Ponio, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, said the boy was handed over to the municipal police and social workers. “The rescued minor is now brought to Sergio Osmena Municipal Police Station and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office for proper disposition and counselling. Likewise, his parents were already notified of his whereabouts,” he said.
There was no immediate statement from the NPA, which has been fighting for many decades now in an effort to overthrow the government and install a Maoist state in the country. (Zamboanga Post)
Officials said a cattleman spotted the young unarmed rebel roaming around the village of Barangay Mansawan and quickly told the military about the boy. Members of the 10th Infantry Battalion were immediately sent to the village and found the boy who admitted being a child warrior of the New People’s Army.
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| Army photos released to The Zamboanga Post show the young communist rebel talking with an unidentified soldier. |
The young rebel said he was left behind by rebels in the forest of Mount Malindang which prompted him to search for a nearest community.
Colonel Leonel Nicolas, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, condemned the NPA for recruiting children and use them to fight the democratic government. “This clearly shows that the communist terrorist group is continuously violating the International Humanitarian Law which prohibits the recruitment and use of children in hostilities,” he said.
Major General Generoso Ponio, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, said the boy was handed over to the municipal police and social workers. “The rescued minor is now brought to Sergio Osmena Municipal Police Station and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office for proper disposition and counselling. Likewise, his parents were already notified of his whereabouts,” he said.
There was no immediate statement from the NPA, which has been fighting for many decades now in an effort to overthrow the government and install a Maoist state in the country. (Zamboanga Post)
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