An interfaith mission deplores the government’s all-out war in Central Mindanao for causing trauma and suffering among hundreds and thousands of children.
The National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission (NIHM), which traveled simultaneously to Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Maguindanao last October 21 to 24, documented cases of children suffering from sickness, malnutrition, and trauma. Children were also killed and injured in bombings and operations.
The Mission documented the following cases: the deaths of six children in an aerial bombing in Datu Piang, Maguindanao; the killing of a 14-year-old and dumping in a toilet in Poona Piagapo; the wounding of two cousins from artillery bombing in Poona Piagapo, Lanao del Norte and the detention of two children aged 4 and 6 with their father in Lanao del Norte. All these human rights violations were perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Classes have been suspended for two months now due to the war. Public schools such as the Tambo Elementary School, Munai; 4 classrooms of the Romina Cabrera National High School in Brgy. Riverside, Kolambugan, and the Madrasah in Tambo, Munai have been closed and converted into evacuation centers.
These cases, according to the Mission, show that innocent civilians, especially children, are casualties of all-out war in violation of international humanitarian law and human rights instruments.
It is also ironic, the group says, as these incidents happen in observance of Children’s Month this October.
The NIHM, spearheaded by the coalition Kalinaw (Peace) Mindanao, will present these cases to the Senate Committee on Human Rights which deputized the Mission, and to other government bodies and the Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH).
But the immediate relief for these children and their families, says Kalinaw Mindanao convenor Atty. Beverly Musni, is for the immediate cessation of all-out war offensives so that the more than 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) can return safely to their homes.
The military has reportedly blocked families from returning to some villages saying operations are continuing, according to local officials and IDPs.
The Mission also called for immediate medical and psycho-social therapy for children, as many in the evacuation centers suffer from poor sanitation, congestion of sleeping quarters and toilets, hunger and communicable diseases.
Malnutrition and communicable diseases such as coughs, colds, and impetigo are prevalent. In Munai, Lanao del Norte, a measles outbreak hit 52 children, with nine children dead.
But the most severe cases were the three infants (two aged two-months old and one eight-month old) from Tangkal who were suffering for a week from chronic diarrhea and dehydration. The Mission’s medical team immediately brought them to the Lanao Provincial Hospital in Baroy for treatment. Two of the babies were born as the war started in their communities. They weighed only 1.5 kilograms each upon admission in the hospital.
The mothers of two infants said they did not bring their kids to the hospital, even if there is one in Kolambugan that is 20 minutes away, because they fear going to a Christian hospital.
The all-out war has also left children traumatized. During psycho-social therapy sessions, children aged 7 to 12 expressed in their drawings and role-playing their fear of soldiers, firearms, and bombs. Racial biases deepened among Christian and Moro children after experiences in the armed hostilities.
Children have been hit by military atrocities. In Datu Piang, children who were evacuating by boat in Barangay Tee were hit by a bomb dropped by a fighter plane, killing six and injuring four.
Two cousins, one 11-years-old and the other 13-years-old, suffered injuries on their hands and feet from artillery shelling in their village in Poona Piagapo last September 28 reportedly fired from Pantao Ragat, the base of the 32nd Infantry Battalion.
In Lanao del Norte, a 14-year-old boy was reportedly hit by bomb splinters and later thrown inside a toilet by soldiers.
The two children of Kabilangan Mala of Munai, aged four and six, were detained with him from September 5 to 7. Mala, a barangay official of Barangay Tamparan, was arrested without warrant by elements of the 10th IB on allegations that he is an MILF member. Mala and his children were detained in the 102nd Brigade in Iligan City and later transferred to the Kauswagan Police Station. The children were released to the custody of a provincial official on September 7 while Mala was released a day after.
The Mission went to five municipalities in Lanao del Norte – Kauswagan, Kolambugan, Munai, Tangkal and Poona Piagapo, to Pikit, North Cotabato, Datu Piang and Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao.#
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