Custody battle on over boy rescued in NPA firefight

CATBALOGAN, Samar — The military and militants here are waging another battle, this time in court over custody of a 12-year-old boy "rescued" in an encounter between soldiers and communist rebels last November.

The boy’s brother, Ortiz Mabanan, with support from militant groups, has questioned in court the decision of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s provincial office to grant custody of the minor to Fr. Daniel Tansip, a military chaplain.

Mabanan fears that the military may use his brother in anti-insurgency operations. The Army’s 8th Infantry Division rescued the boy in a clash with the New People’s Army in Barangay Cambi-as here.

Mabanan cited the case of a young rebel whom militants claimed was "exploited" by the military when he was captured in 1998. The minor stunned authorities when he displayed his skill in disassembling and re-assembling a high-powered firearm in a matter of minutes.

The militants argued that the DSWD has no authority to grant custody of the boy to the military, claiming his childhood will be "repressed."

DSWD provincial head Luz Dabuet Tacal told The STAR that Tansip "acquired custody of (the boy) in his personal capacity, and not in behalf of the military."

During the boy’s short stay at the DSWD office, Tacal said she discovered that he was not a rebel but who just happened to be at the scene of the military-NPA encounter.

During a recent hearing on the custody battle, lawyer Fedelito Dacut, Mabanan’s counsel, presented psychologist Isabel Lanada, of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center, who stressed the importance of family as a "natural environment" for a child’s development and the resulting trauma if he is uprooted from this setting.

The military declined to comment on the issue while the case is pending in court.