DND signs IRR protecting minors from armed conflict

MANILA, Philippines —  Committing to uphold the new law protecting minors from the effects of armed conflict, the Department of National Defense (DND) joined other government agencies earlier this week in signing the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act 11188 or the Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act.

Arsenio Andolong, DND public affairs service chief, said the law, signed on Jan. 10, 2019, covers all children below 18 years old who are involved in, affected by or displaced by armed conflicts. It seeks to protect children in situations of armed conflict from all forms of abuse, violence, cruelty and discrimination.

He noted that in the Philippines alone, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated about 30,000 to 50,000 children were displaced every year as a result of armed conflict.  

RA 11188 defines children in situations of armed conflict as those who are members of displaced families, physically weakened, orphaned or disabled, combatants and those mobilized for other armed conflict-related activities and disrupted from schooling due to armed conflict. 

Andolong also said that children are recruited and forced to become rebels because they can be easily manipulated and their innocence abused.

Undersecretary for defense policy Ricardo David Jr. represented Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in signing the IRR, which is a potent tool to protect children in situations of armed conflict, particularly those in Mindanao. 

The Interagency Committee on Children in Situations of Armed Conflict is chaired by the Council for the Welfare of Children.

Its members are the Departments of Education, Social Welfare and Development, Interior and Local Government, Justice and Health as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Office of Civil Defense, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Philippine Commission on Women, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the Philippine National Police.