South Cotabato IPMR asks NPAs to spare IP children

KORONADAL CITY -- Please spare the innocent Indigenous Peoples (IP) children from your ideological struggle. With this statement to the communist New Peoples' Army (NPAs), South Cotabato provincial board member Edgar Sambong, the IP mandatory represenative (IPMR) to the provincial legislative body, raised the cause of IPs in South Cotabato's hinterlands.Sambong told DXOM-AM Radyo Bida that he received very reliableinformation from tribal leaders that the communist guerillas have been recruiting IP minors to joint the movement. I was told the NPAs have been taking advantage of IP minors' lack of education and innocence in its recruitment activities to fight the government, Sambong said.Recently, four communist guerillas returned to the fold of the law. They belonged to IP communities in the province.To protect the rights and interest of indigenous peoples, Sambong urged tribal leaders to unite and have one voice.