(Juan Carlo de Vela / MANILA BULLETIN)
IPRI, a global group that initiates protection of indigenous peoples, cited the case of the 19 Lumad children who were taken by members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from the Talamban Campus of the University of San Carlos in Cebu City on allegations that they were engaged in “warfare training.”
It said the Lumad children are now under the custody of the PNP, while seven others are detained and charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention offenses.
It lamented that Lumad schools have long been attacked and threatened based on the government’s “baseless reports” linking them to terrorist groups.