Senator Ronald Dela Rosa is pushing for an investigation over the leftist groups’ alleged recruitment of minors for their armed struggle.
According to Resolution No. 58 filed by Dela Rosa, urged the Senate to investigate the said issue.
“We really wanted to know the real score behind this issue. An investigation on this case could ferret out the truth and in the end, we could also recommend actions that will ensure the peace in the country as well as protect and preserve the welfare of our children,” Dela Rosa said.
The cop-turned-senator revealed that some parents visited his office to inform him about their missing children who allegedly recruited by leftist groups.
According to one parent, their 16-year-old child left their home for almost a week for a “leadership training” without their knowledge.
Because of their concerns, they attempted to search their child and found that the latter is in a political rally in Quezon City.
Another parent also narrated to Bato that their child is also missing after attending a non-existent seminar.
Dela Rosa after hearing the stories expressed alarm over the alleged activities of the leftist group.
“There was an alarming report that communist is recruiting minors as their fighters as young as 10 years old. The same news report also claimed that the communist group has been doing this for decades but their recruitment efforts were intensified now because their armed group has been depleted due to frequent clash with government troops,” Dela Rosa explained.
The Senator also said that the Commission on Higher Education failed their duty to protect the students from alleged indoctrination of the leftist groups.
Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año claimed that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) / National Peoples’ Army (NPA) / National Democratic Front (NDF) are trying to brainwash minors to fight the government.
“They teach the innocent how to use a gun, how to fight in armed combat, how to gain people’s sympathy, to sing a different version of the national anthem and to join rallies calling for the overthrow of the government,” Año said in a statement.