Gov't condemns insurgents for recruiting child warriors

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government condemned today the recruitment of child soldiers by Muslim rebel group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Philippine Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that Malacanang, the presidential palace, received reports that three of those more than 50 BIFF members who were killed in the ongoing skirmishes with government troops in southern Philippine province of Maguindanao were minors.

"Beyond the fact that it violates so many laws, not just ours but of international laws, we condemn the practice of using child soldiers in these hostilities," she said in an interview over a state-run radio station, and appealed to the parents not to allow their children to be child soldiers.

Valte also called on members of the media to coordinate with the authorities in covering hostilities in southern Philippines following reports that two journalists were among those injured when the BIFF rebels detonated powerful homemade bomb in Maguindanao Saturday morning, saying that media practitioners should follow the "safety protocols" in their coverage.

The Philippine government troops have launched offensive operations against the BIFF shortly after the completion of all the four annexes of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Jan. 25.

The BIFF broke away with the MILF, the largest Muslim rebel group in the country, in December 2010 after the latter gave up its fight for an independent Islamic state.