The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) urged the United Nations (UN) to conduct “thorough, balanced investigations” in the Philippines to be able to hold accountable those truly responsible for violations of children’s rights in the country.

In a reaction to an October 21 report to the UN Security Council, NDFP Special Office for the Protection of Children (SOPC) chief Coni Ledesma said their group is committed to protecting the rights and welfare of children in all aspects of their struggle.

“The NDFP stresses the importance of thorough, balanced investigations to fully understand the situation on the ground, and to ensure that children’s rights are upheld, protected and promoted,” Ledesma, long-time NDFP Negotiating Panel member, said.

NDFP said it takes exceptions to a UN report alleging the New People’s Army (NPA) are among those who violate children rights, such as recruiting minors as young as 16 years old to become members.

Quoting a country task force investigation, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said state and non-state armed groups in the Philippines commit child rights violations, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP), Dawlah Islamiyah-Turaife Group, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Abu Sayyaf Group, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

“Boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 were the most affected by recruitment and use by armed groups. These children were also vulnerable to other grave violations, including use by State forces, killing and maiming, abduction, and rape and other forms of sexual violence,” the report said.

NDFP standards exceed international norms

Ledesma however said the NDFP is committed to the welfare of children as enshrined in its “Program of Action and Declaration on the Rights and Welfare of Children”, which expressly prohibits the recruitment of children in armed activities.

“The principles laid out in our Program of Action align with, and often exceed, the standards set by international humanitarian law,” Ledesma said.

She explained that the NPA and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in fact categorically adopted the policy of prohibiting the recruitment of any person below the age of 18 years in 1988, a year ahead of the creation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The NDFP’s policies reflect our steadfast dedication to protect children’s rights and any suggestion to the contrary is a misrepresentation of our stance and practices,” Ledesma stressed.

She added that  the revolutionary movement strictly adheres to international laws and conventions governing armed conflict, particularly the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which the NDFP and the entire revolutionary movement recognizes as binding on all combatants.

“We uphold the principle of distinction, ensuring that combatants are clearly separated from non-combatants and that children are shielded from the impacts of conflict to the fullest extent possible,” Ledesma said.

GRP violations

In stark contrast, the NDFP said the GRP has repeatedly violated the rights of children in the context of the ongoing armed conflict in the Philippines, with reports of abuses, abductions and killings of minors.

In addition to the UN report, Ledesma said the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government has committed recent children’s rights violations:

• On June 9, just a few days after the International Day for the Protection of Children, the AFP’s 7th Infantry Battalion (IB) shot dead a 16-year old Grade 9 student Kuni Cuba in Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao;
• On June 2, 74th IB soliders opened fire on and illegally arrested 11 farmers, including 7 minors in Sitio Canonghan, Barangay Osmena, Palapag, Northern Samar;
• On April 25, 2024, elements of the 79th IB arrested Adonis Alforque, 16, and Jonidel Alforque, 17, in Sitio Humayan, Barangay Pinowayan, Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental, and falsely claimed the two brothers were “NPA child soldiers”;
• On March 28, a drunken soldier of the 59th IB molested and sexually exploited a young girl in Sitio Sales, Barangay Pook, Balayan, Batangas. Apart from this, the soldier involved also mauled the girl’s 14-year-old boy companion; and
• On February 23, state forces abducted a father (“Berting”) alongside his two minor children one of whom is four years old in Barangay Campagao, Bilar, Bohol.

Ledesma pointed out that the UN reported that the AFP and the PNP detained six children in the period between January 2022 to December 2023, “consistent with the AFP’s pattern of abducting children and using them to force their Red fighter parents to surrender.”

She also recalled how the Rodrigo Duterte government kidnapped “Baby Marx,” a newborn baby of Red fighters, away from his grandparents in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

“Four years since, Baby Marx remains ‘hostaged’ by the 79th IB and the NTF-ELCAC in the province. The fascist state forces refuse to give Baby Marx back to his grandparents who have been fighting hard to get him back,” she said.

Ledesma also pointed out the UN report reveals at least five cases of attacks on schools and hospitals perpetrated by the AFP, PNP, NTF-ELCAC and the National Intelligence and Coordinating Agency (NICA), “again consistent with the AFP’s policy of making a mockery of international humanitarian law in the conduct of their counterrevolutionary war against the Filipino people.”

“These cases not only reflect the GRP’s failure to adhere to international standards for the protection of children, but also highlight an inherent culture of impunity within the ranks of the AFP,” Ledesma said.

Guterres however said he welcomes the release of the Oslo Joint Communiqué last November, signalling the intention to reopen peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP. “I call upon the Government and NDFP to include child protection in peace negotiations,” Guterres said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)