The Philippines’ main Muslim separatist group has agreed to stop recruiting child soldiers and return those in its ranks to civilian life, a United Nations official said Friday.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, revealed that during her talks with MILF leader Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF has committed to enter an immediate action plan with the UN to stop the recruitment and use of children as soldiers by totally separating the young ones from their ranks and helping them return to civilian life.

“The MILF gave its word that they will direct their commanders in the field immediately,” Coomaraswamy said in a press conference held at the Discovery Suites Hotel in Ortigas.

Officials of the 12,000-strong MILF, which has been fighting for a Muslim homeland in Southern Mindanao since 1978, met with Coomraswarmy as part of her mission to discuss ways to stop recruitment of children by armed groups in this country.

Coomaraswamy visited the country on the request of the UN Security Council to discuss ways and means of securing the release of children being recruited by the MILF, New People’s Army and the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. She met with government officials, such as Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon, among others.

A United Nations Children’s Fund-commissioned study on children and women released on April showed that the MILF has been recruiting children in their ranks since the Philippine government declared an all-out war against the rebels in 2000 because of poverty, lack of access to basic social services, influence of their families, peers and community members. The MILF assuming custodial role for orphans whose parents are killed in the war is also a factor.

MILF practice

Young Muslim children undergo training by the MILF when they reach the age of puberty—13 to 14 years old for boys and 11 to 12 for girls. Aside from combat operations, these children are also “tasked to carry out patrols, perform sentry duty, prepare food and provide medical assistance.”

During her visit, the Philippine government issued an order strictly prohibiting the recruitment of anyone below the age of 18 into pro-government paramilitary units, Coomaraswarmy said Friday, the last day of her tour.

The UN official added that she was considering “possible dialogue,” with the 5,000-strong communist New People’s Army (NPA), which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969.

The MILF and the NPA have both been accused of recruiting children into their ranks. Previously, both groups insisted the children joined willingly and served as spies, couriers or aides.

Asked on how confident they are that the MILF would fulfill such promise, Coomaraswamy said she believes that the fact that the MILF wants to be legitimized is a good sign.

“The MILF does not view their group as rebels, but as leaders of their province. As such, they would want to be removed from the terrorist list that’s for sure,” Coomaraswamy pointed out. “We maintain a good faith in them.”

She added that the UN sanctions stated in the UN Security Council 1612 that include freezing of assets, travel bans and embargoing of arms are a clear warning.

Share of the blame

But the identified rebel groups don’t have to take all the blame.

The UN also scored the Philippine government for allowing children to be involved in the paramilitary Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units and Community Volunteer Organizations operating in conflict areas.

“We told them that they should also investigate their ranks for violations against children,” she said. “They immediately agreed to immediately issue a directive that will compel all local units to strictly adhere to the existing national legislation that no one under 18 shall be tapped for such service.”

The UN official also recognized that while the Philippines has a strong framework of laws on children and armed conflict, its implementation is yet to be strengthened.

She complimented the government in the upcoming amendment of Republic Act 7610, which would exclude the prosecution of children arrested for reasons related to armed conflict.

“RA 7610 should be amended so that children who are arrested for reasons related to armed conflict will be spared from punishment,” she said. “They [children] are victims, not perpetrators.”

Zones of peace

Republic Act 7610 cites children as zones of peace, and therefore, should not be recruited to become members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, its civilian units or any other armed groups nor be allowed to be used as guides, while Republic Act 8371 prohibits the recruitment of children of indigenous cultural communities into the armed forces under any circumstances.

Republic Act 9208 provides sanctions against child engagement in armed conflict here and abroad, while Republic Act 9231 seeks the elimination of child labor that includes commissioning children to armed groups.

Fighting slammed

Coomaraswarmy deplored the recent surge in fighting between government forces and MILF guerrillas in southern Philippines which has forced thousands of children to flee to overcrowded evacuation centers.

She also insisted for the government to investigate those within the Philippine security forces who are allegedly responsible for violations against these children.

“Children are affected in multiple ways by the conflict in the Philippines. However, they should remain zones of peace and all the parties to the conflict, civil society, religious leaders and the government must consider their protection as a priority,” she said.

The MILF action comes after the United States in October made it a federal crime for rebel groups in the Philippines and 16 other countries to recruit or to use soldiers under the age of 15.

–AFP And Llanesca T. Panti

AT least seven persons, most of them minors, were rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from an alleged human-trafficking syndicate in an operation in North Harbor, Manila.

Roland Argabioso, chief of the NBI’s Field Operations Division, said two persons were arrested while another is still at large.

Argabioso witheld the names of the victims and the suspects owing to the confidentiality clause in crimes involving human trafficking. The victims—four females and three males, are reportedly aged 16 to 18.

NBI agents are preparing charges for violation of Republic Act 9208, the Antitrafficking in Persons Act of 2003, against the suspects.

Argabioso said the operation was launched after the NBI received information that several minors from Dipolog City were recruited and promised jobs as saleswomen in a department store in Manila.

The informant told NBI officials that the minors were unaware of the modus operandi of the recruiter, who is a known supplier of prostitution houses in Manila.

The ferry where the recruits were being transported was scheduled to arrive on June 4, at 3 p.m. from Dipolog City. The informant added the minors will be picked up from the port and will be taken to an undisclosed location somewhere in Manila.

The informant disclosed that one of the victims is her cousin, whom she had constant communication with through text messages.

The informant claimed that on the morning of June 3, she received a text message from her cousin that she would be arriving in Manila.

When the informant asked her cousin the reason for coming to Manila, her cousin replied that she was recruited by a certain “Inday” to work as a saleswoman in Manila.

The informant said that the names and ages of the victims were changed when tickets were purchased for a trip to Manila, on board M/V Dipolog Princess.

The NBI then set up an operation on June 4 to rescue the trafficked persons and arrest the suspects.

The NBI agents positioned themselves in the area where the passengers would be alighting at Pier 12 of North Harbor.

At 4 a.m. on June 4, one of the victims, the informant’s cousin, was spotted by the NBI going toward a parking area where she was approached by a woman and a man.

The three then proceeded to Moriones Street, where a white van was waiting. The NBI agents then approached and identified themselves. The two suspects were placed under arrest.

QUERY:

Last year, my thirteen-year-old daughter left for the capital-town of our province to look for work in order to pursue her studies. Because she was pretty she was hired as a guest relations officer in a hotel. Her job, however, prevented her from studying as she had to work virtually the whole day. Worse, she had to entertain guests in their rooms.

When I learned about this, I visited her to advise her to find another job. The hotel manager prevented her from leaving, saying she signed a three-year contract with them. Can the hotel management compel my daughter to continue working because of the contract? Is there a way for my daughter to be released from the contract?

Dalmacio E.

Response:

Your query elicits an affirmative answer. The contract she entered into is defective, she being a minor.

The Civil Code provides that “unemancipated minors“ cannot give consent to a contract (Article 1327). Thus, the subject contract is voidable. Parenthetically, the phrase “unemancipated minors” refers to persons who have not reached the age of majority—as such, they are still subject to parental authority. By the way, a voidable contract is one that possesses all the essential requisites of a valid contract, but has a defect or vice in that the consent is vitiated where one of the parties—like your young daughter—is incapable of giving consent thereto. Thus, the same can be the subject of annulment.

Considering that your daughter is dutybound to entertain the hotel guests in their rooms, it is possible that she was required to engage in immoral activities. If this is the case then it can be said that the contract also lacks an essential element, i.e., lawful cause. On this score, the Civil Code also provides, inter alia, that contracts with unlawful cause produce no effect whatever. The cause is unlawful if it is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy. (Article 1352) If this is the case then the contract she entered into may be treated as void. Article 1409 clearly provides that a contract is inexistent and void from the beginning if its “cause, object or purpose is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order or public policy.”

For your information, we have a law, R.A. 9231 (which amended Republic Act No. 7610) the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act,” which provides special protection to children from all forms of abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation and discrimination, and other conditions prejudicial to their development. Under the law, children below 15 years old should not be employed—this is subject only to a few exceptions—and with the further condition that:

1. the employer should ensure the protection, health, safety, morals and normal development of the child;
2. the employer should institute measures to prevent the child’s exploitation or discrimination, taking into account the system and level of remuneration, and the duration and arrangement of working time; and
3. the employer should formulate and implement, subject to the approval and supervision of competent authorities, a continuing program for training and skills-acquisition of the child.

In these cases where a child may be employed, the employer should first secure, before engaging such child, a work-permit from the Department of Labor and Employment to ensure the observance of the above requirements. The term “child” applies to all persons under eighteen years of age.

The law also prohibits the employment of children in the worst forms of child labor. “Worst forms of child-labor” refer to:

• All forms of slavery, as provided for in the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, or practices similar to slavery, such as sale and trafficking of children, debt-bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, including recruitment of children for use in armed-conflict;
• The use, procuring, offering, or exposing of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or pornographic performances;
• The use, procuring, offering, or exposing of a child for illegal or illicit activities, including the production and trafficking of dangerous drugs and volatile substances prohibited under existing laws; or
• Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is hazardous or likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children.

For your information, complaints on case of unlawful acts committed against children may be filed by the following: (a) Offended party; (b) Parents or guardians; © Ascendant or collateral relative within the 3rd degree of consanguinity; (d) Officer, social worker or representative of a licensed child-caring institution; (e) Officer or social worker of the DSWD; (f) Barangay chairman of the place where the violation occurred or where the child is residing or employed; or (g) At least 3 concerned, responsible citizens where the violation occurred.

The family courts have jurisdiction over all cases involving offenses punishable under RA 9231. However, in cities or provinces where there are no family courts, the regional trial courts and the municipal trial courts have concurrent jurisdiction.

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Above all things, let us reflect on what our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

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esmabutas@yahoo.com