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| Children begging in public jeepneys are a common sight in Manila. Photo by Dennis Estopace. |
NEWS RELEASE
February 9, 2013
Reference: Reina Requioma, Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concern and Sarah Espineda, Children’s Rehabilitation Center
After almost ten months of arbitrary detention, “Resti”, a peasant boy falsely branded as child soldier, was finally released last Friday from the National Training School for the Boys (NTSB) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Tanay, Rizal as his mother and counsel asserted to free Resti.
On the evening of March 22, 2012, “Resti”, 16 years old together with “Mario”, 20 years old and “Jerome”, also 17 years old were looking for work in coconut farms in Sitio Tagbakan Brgy. Pansoy San Andres Quezon when elements of 74th Infantry Battalion not in uniforms carrying high powered rifles pointed guns at them and arrested them for no reason. Lt. Col. Dennis Perez, commanding officer of the Philippine Army's 74th Infantry Battalion (IB), released to the media that they have captured NPA child soldiers extorting money from residents after an encounter happened between soldiers and the New People’s Army (NPA).
After a month, Resti was transferred from Quezon Provincial Jail to the Boys Town in Rizal without any notice to his family. Mario and Jerome, who already turned eighteen (18) were detained at the provincial jail until they were transferred in Bicutan last December. Since Resti’s transfer, his mother has visited him only thrice due to lack of finances for her fare.
Yesterday, Atty. Jun Oliva of National Union of People’s Lawyer (NUPL) and Sarah Espineda of Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) accompanied the mother of Resti to visit her son and seek his release.
Backed with supporting documents including a certification that no pending cases were filed against Resti, they insisted to Ms. Zenaida Gorospe of the NTSB that the release of the child has been long-overdue and the facility has gravely violated his rights.
“Just like the previous attempts, the team was confronted with different alibis; The family and Karapatn -Quezon were able to produce the documents that they required and now they are saying that they cannot release the boy. We are saddened and alarmed at the same time, because Resti has already been a victim since he was illegally arrested, tortured and declared as a child soldier last March and the refusal of the NTSB to release him to his mother is a clear denial of justice,” Reina Requioma, Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns spokesperson.
With the mother and counsel’s persistence, claiming to file necessary administrative actions against the heads of the NTSB if they fail to free the child, Resti was finally released.
The boy disclosed that he was placed in a solitary confinement for almost a month wherein he was only given food through the windows. He was also guarded by a different personnel each month, one of whom was a military police from Camp Capinpin as other children have seen him in duty. Someone also tried to convince him to become a soldier and offered to give him everything that he wants.
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| What kind of society we have if we cannot protect our children's rights? Photo by D. Estopace |
“Resti’s case is not an isolated one. Many children have suffered the same fate and worst children have been killed because of the atrocious counter-insurgency plan Oplan Bayanihan. Obviously, he's case clearly shows a systematic state-perpetrated violence against children through deliberate connivance of government agencies, even institutions supposedly tasked to protect the welfare of the Filipino children. With these circumstances, we seemed to arrive to the question as to whom we entrust the safety and welfare of our children,” Requioma ended.