Kin of 8-year-old boy killed in encounter seek justice

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Relatives of an eight-year-old boy killed in an encounter between government forces and New People’s Army rebels in Compostela Valley filed a complaint yesterday before the Commission on Human Rights-Southern Mindanao regional office to seek justice for his death.

The Children Rehabilitation Center (CRC)-Southern Mindanao Regional Office said the family of Roque Antivo is determined to file cases of murder and human rights violations against the members of the Army’s 71st Infantry Battalion.

The boy’s parents, Sonny Cortes and Evelyn Antivo, were accompanied by representatives from the CRC, Karapatan,  and Kabiba Alliance for Children’s Concerns in filing the complaint before the CHR office.

The CRC said Antivo, who was killed last April 3 in Barangay Anitapan, Mabini, was the fifth child victim of human rights violation in Southern Mindanao and 16th in the whole country under the Aquino administration.

Children’s rights groups like CRC have expressed alarm over the situation because no one from the government has been prosecuted and punished. 

Antivo’s brother, Earl,12, who was injured in the same incident, is still recuperating at the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City. 

Earl blamed the soldiers for the death of his brother.

Officials of the Army 10th Infantry Division denied the allegations, saying the Antivo brothers were caught in a legitimate encounter between the soldiers and the rebels.