A commissioner of the National Youth Commission (NYC) on
Tuesday disclosed that bandits in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) are recruiting so-called child warriors by convincing their parents.
Commissioner Earl Saavedra, of the NYC for Mindanao ,
said that not even the ballooning scholarships offered by the Commission on
Higher Education (Ched) could counter the offers made by the bandits.
Saavedra, who have an interaction with the youths here, did
not name any specific armed group in his remarks.In 2013 when the Priority
Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of the Senators and Congressmen were
scrapped in favor of the various Cabinet departments, Ched scholarships
nationwide increased to Php 1.05 billion.
Each private college student-scholar would receive Php
15,000 per semester while students from state colleges and universities would
get Php 7,000 each in book allowance.
The Ched scholarship pales in comparison to the offers made
by bandits to the youths in the ARMM region, Saavedra claimed.
He said that bandits would convince parents to send in their
kids as child warriors. In return, the family would receive an on the spot Php
100,000 in cash, two firearms and an offer to pay the dowry if the child
warrior decides to take a bride of his choice and marry.
Saavedra surmised that the parents were convinced to send
their children to join banditry because of poverty in the region, which has the
lowest youth development index in the country.
The NYC designed the youth development index as among the
indicators in health, education, employment and societal participation, he
said.
Saavedra said that the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous region
would certainly provide an opportunity for the voice of the youth in contrast
to the stifled voice of the youth under the ARMM.
He said that the NYC is batting for the passage of the
Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in order to include the youth in the Bangsamoro
parliament, representation of the youth in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority
and the creation of a Bangsamoro Youth Commission.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=0&sid=&nid=0&rid=773131
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