200 Boy Scouts featured in a peace forum

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE (PIA Samar)
December 13, 2008

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar  –  Some 200 boy Scouts from Samar were special guests of the army as it hosted the Peace Forum held in Paranas, Samar in celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Brig Gen. Francis Lanuza of the 801st Brigade said they invited the boy scouts aged 10-12 years old because they are the future leaders and need to understand how peace and development are interrelated.

On the other hand, Battalion Commander of the 34th IB, Lt.Col. Larry Mojica said that the rebels are recruiting younger people and that they should be forewarned.

According to a report of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), there is a recognition of an alarming situation of children’s involvement in armed conflict either as combatants, couriers, guides, spy or any similar capacity, which need special attention from all sectors of society.

Aside from this concern, the children were also made to understand to uphold human rights though as young as they are in a way they would understand, said an army official.

The peace forum was quite unusual, with the presence of the children. Previous Peace rallies usually gather hundreds of KAIBIGAN supporters and Local Chief Executives and other leaders to gain support for the army’s anti-insurgency campaign.

With the recent peace rally in Paranas, the army seemed to gain grounds from both the adults and the junior citizens who felt a certain pride for being treated like adults. Some boy scouts even expressed their ambition to become the snappy army officers in their midst, confided the government soldiers look so brave and smart in their uniforms.

The crowd included residents from Paranas headed by Mayor Boy Babalcon, from Jiabong with Mayor Chanita Gabieta, from Catbalogan with their pretty ABC Chair Ms. Stephanie Uy-Tan along with other residents coming from Hinabangan and Motiong.