CHR probes ‘rescue’ of Lumad children in Cebu

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Tuesday said it has dispatched an investigation team to look into the “rescue” of Lumad children in Cebu City.

CHR Spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said the team was deployed on Monday.

“Given the different claims involving the incident, our interest is to pin down the truth and  [we] look forward to the cooperation of all parties concerned as we move forward in our independent investigation,” she said in a statement.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) dubbed its operation a “rescue” of minors who were allegedly being held by communist rebels in the University of San Carlos (USC).

The PNP claimed that the Lumad students were previously enrolled in a school run by rebels but shut down by the Department of Education in 2019.

Police said the minors’ parents sought the assistance of the Davao del Norte government in tracking them down.

The USC and the Societas Verbi Divini Philippines, however, said the students who were taken by police were being “nurtured, cared for and treated with their best interest in mind” in a retreat house.

The children were said to be part of a 42-person delegation that participated in a school activity in March 2020 but have been unable to return to their indigenous communities due to coronavirus-related lockdowns.

“No rescue need ever be conducted because the presence of the Lumad in the retreat house was for their welfare and well-being, and all throughout, they were nurtured, cared for, and treated with their best interest in mind,” a joint statement read. -MDM, GMA News