Watch your kids, they might be terrorists, parents in the Philippines told

President Rodrigo Duterte’s former police chief Ronald dela Rosa says communist groups are out to brainwash the nation’s children

The warning from the newly elected senator comes after tearful parents tell the Senate their children were recruited by leftists and never came back

Reading Time:3 minutes

Fighters for the communist New People’s Army in the mountains of Sierra Madre in the Philippines. Photo: EPA

Published: 6:48pm, 12 Aug 2019Updated: 6:52pm, 12 Aug 2019

Parents should beware: if their child behaves like a smart aleck or becomes more stubborn, he or she might be about to turn into a communist terrorist.

This was claimed by newly elected senator Ronald dela Rosa, who said he wanted the public to be aware of communists recruiting and “brainwashing” minors.

Dela Rosa is the former national police chief who launched President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. Under his watch, thousands of “suspects” died in what human rights groups have called state-sponsored extrajudicial killings. The administration claims the deaths, which have not stopped, are the result of drug syndicates fighting each other.

During May’s elections for the Senate, Duterte personally campaigned for Dela Rosa, who along with the president and several other officials is named in a crimes against humanity complaint filed at the International Criminal Court.

In a statement last week, Dela Rosa said: “There was an alarming report that communist terrorists are recruiting minors as their fighters as young as 10 years old.”

Dela Rosa is the former national police chief who launched President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs. Photo: Bloomberg

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x