https://www.scmp.com/rss/324306/feed Reuben James Barrete is a development worker focusing on human rights and social protection. He is finishing his master’s degree in international studies at the University of the Philippines. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Perhaps the most chilling images from the siege of Marawi, on the Philippine island of Mindanao, is of propaganda by the Maute group featuring children with guns. Child soldiering is not a new phenomenon in the Philippines. Like those previously recruited into the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), these child soldiers have affinities for the recruiting groups’ ideology and operations. Some were offered cash or access to marriageable women, while others followed or joined at the behest of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2113175/philippine-insurgents-making-soldiers-children-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2113175/philippine-insurgents-making-soldiers-children-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Sep 2017 03:57:22 +0000 President Rodrigo Duterte is a figure of power in the Philippines, but instead of using this strength to protect the people, this “strongman” – as most people call him – regards rape as a matter of entertainment. Worse, he uses it as encouragement for the military: after imposing martial law in Mindanao, he told soldiers stationed there that they were allowed to rape up to three women. This tasteless joke is nothing but an encouragement of the normalisation of rape culture, and ignores the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2096655/rape-jokes-philippines-duterte-trivialise-sexual-violence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2096655/rape-jokes-philippines-duterte-trivialise-sexual-violence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jun 2017 08:03:05 +0000 The Philippines, with one of the most colourful and vibrant gay communities in Asia, claims to be on the crest of homosexual tolerance. However, the general population, particularly the older generation, seems to think LGBT rights and issues shouldn’t be at the top of the political agenda on “moral” grounds and the perceived threat to social order. A 2013 Pew Research Centre survey in 39 countries found that 73 per cent of Filipinos thought homosexuality should be accepted by society, with an... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2090364/why-denial-political-voice-means-gay-rights-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2090364/why-denial-political-voice-means-gay-rights-philippines?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Apr 2017 04:34:57 +0000 Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” has been his flagship campaign since he ran for the presidency, to curtail the drug trade in the Philippines. More than 7,000 deaths have been linked to anti-drug operations since he took office last June. However, the campaign has not only killed alleged drug addicts, it has also left children as orphans. Worse, some have become victims, shot by stray bullets or caught in the middle of an anti-drug operation. The non-government Children’s Legal Rights and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2087714/dutertes-war-drugs-leaving-children-pay-price-not-asking-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2087714/dutertes-war-drugs-leaving-children-pay-price-not-asking-why?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Apr 2017 04:01:42 +0000