Manila: A ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Monday said recent incidents in Negros Occidental and Samar showcased a troubling shift in the recruitment practices of the New People's Army (NPA), marked by the increasing involvement of foreign nationals and minors in active combat.
According to Philippines News Agency, NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., in a statement, said this development raised serious concerns about the trajectory of the armed movement. He also cited the April 19 armed encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental where two American nationals - Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem - were among the 19 NPA combatants killed. Their deaths highlight how individuals from outside the country are now being drawn into local armed hostilities, he added.
"Also among those killed in the same encounter - as identified in the PNP (Philippine National Police) investigation and validated by their claimant-relatives -- were two minors, Jolinda Jimena (16) and Dexter Patoja (17). Their presence in a combat environment highlights the grave risks faced by young individuals who become involved in armed conflict," Torres said.
In a separate incident in Samar on April 17, another minor identified as alias 'John Paul' was killed during an armed encounter as reported by the 8th Infantry Division. This brings to three the number of minors killed in combat within the same period. Taken together, these cases present a pattern that cannot be dismissed.
The involvement of foreign nationals alongside minors points to a widening recruitment scope that extends beyond traditional local bases and into more vulnerable sectors. "The recruitment and use of minors in armed conflict constitute serious violations of International Humanitarian Law, as well as Republic Act No. 11188 (Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act), Republic Act No. 7610, and the Philippines' obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict," Torres said.
He said those responsible, particularly elements of the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army - National Democratic Front, must be made to account for these violations of both domestic and international law. He said these laws exist to ensure that children are protected from exploitation and exposure to violence.
Torres said the presence of foreign nationals in these encounters further indicates that recruitment efforts have expanded beyond Philippine borders, exposing individuals from the diaspora to the dangers of armed confrontation on the ground. These developments suggest increasing pressure on the movement to sustain its ranks, reflected in a shift toward drawing from sectors that are either geographically distant or inherently vulnerable, he added.
Torres said this situation calls for heightened awareness and vigilance among families, communities, school administrations and organizations - both in the Philippines and abroad - to ensure that individuals, particularly the youth, are not placed in circumstances that endanger their lives. "A movement that draws in children and foreign nationals into armed conflict is not demonstrating strength - it is revealing a critical strain that comes at the cost of human lives," he said.
