The approval of House Bill 4480, which seeks to criminalize the use of children in armed conflicts, will definitely make a significant contribution to the national thrust to protect children. Under the bill, recruiting children for use in armed conflicts is prohibited and is punishable as a crime.
The CPP/NPA is one of the more visible groups that use and deploy young children on the front lines. Most of the children it recruits are killed or maimed in combat. Yet, it is obvious that child recruits do not have any ideological belief and are lured into the conflict because of basic needs recruiters promise to provide them with.
We laud the authors of the bill. The children’s proper place is in school and by the side of their parents and loved ones. The bill helps assure a better life and future for children.
—LUBELLE S. MADRAZO,
lubellemadrazo@yahoo.com