The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education must be aware that bullying and gangsterism are not only what threatens the students in schools but also the recruitment of lawless armed groups, in the guise of youth activism for the country, which can be considered as kidnapping through brainwashing.
The organization believes that the death of a University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) veterinary student, a youth, who allegedly was with the New Peoples' Army when an encounter occurred between them and the government troops, is not an isolated case in the Philippines and must not be denied by the rebel group. In fact, it has been proven many times that the NPAs illegally recruit students and minors to support their line of officers and sentinel.
According to the report of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in 2008, 20% of the total NPA members are those who are youth/children under 18 years old.
In Compostela Valley alone where there is a large concentration of armed rebels, it has been revealed by the 1001st Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army that among all the NPA members who surrendered to them in 2017, 85% of these are youth.
Categorically, 20% of those surrenderees are 17 years old and below, 50% are 18 to 25, while 15% are 26 to 30 years old. And if analyzed, these age groups belong to the student and young professional sectors, which factually support the revelation of Col. Arevalo, Spokesperson of the AFP.
It has also been proven through the report of the Eastern Mindanao Command on May 2, 2018, where a 16-year-old female who reveals herself as an NPA member surrendered to the 60th Infantry Battalion on April 30, 2018, after experiencing series of armed encounters between their group and the government troops in Laak, Compostela Valley, and Asuncion, Davao del Norte on April 29, 2018.
The minor who was only identified as Kara, proved her involvement in the armed group when she told the soldiers where she hid her AK47 firearm, and true enough, it was recovered at the place.
Despite the Department of Education's declaration of its Schools as Zones of Peace, we believe that it is not enough to assure that the students will be protected from conflicts.
It has to be understood by the educational institutions that there is more harmful than armaments which could encourage their students to join the armed struggle, and that is extreme ideology.
For this reason, the government and the parents must take more effective measures to counter the rebel group's extreme ideology, which should also be done through education and awareness from home to school.
As to the YFPM (TALBOS), we are already starting this campaign by conducting in-school peace symposiums and youth peace camps to support the schools and Local Government Units in Southern Mindanao in empowering the students and other youth sectors as peacebuilders to help them avoid the desperate scheme of lawless armed groups.
However, we know that this is not enough and the government needs more groups like us that will support their programs to help engage the youth and students. So as a youth organization that advocates peace through youth empowerment in this part of the country, we assure everyone that we will continue to take proactive initiatives to support the government's thrust in attaining peace and protecting the youth sector.
We are also encouraging other youth sectors, organizations, and public or private agencies to do the same because this is not only a one school issue or a youth issue. This is happening all over the country and could become a potential national issue if we could not resolve it through "Bayanihan," until the next 50 years of the NPA's reign.
#YLSforLife
#SayNOtoNPAYouthRecruitment
Source: Youth for Peace Movement (TALBOS)
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