Philippine News Digest 38
October 2, 2002 ·
Contents:
- Se x with und erage girls
- Smut dealers use children to sell porn
- NPA admits fielding teens in combat
Sex with underage girls
A disgraced former Thai senator, Chalerm Promlert, 66, was sentenced to 16 years in jail for having sex with underage girls , court officials said. Promlert wa found guilty of statutory rape with four girls under 15 years of age in 2000 and 2001 when he was deputy speaker of the Senate. The court rejected as “unreasonable” the senator’s defense that he was impotent and that the days the girls claimed they had sex with him he was actually at work. Media reports at the time said the senator paid 4,000 baht to a 17-yer old girl to arrange the meeting with four eight-graders at a seedy motel in the Bangkok suburb of Pathum Thani. Source: AFP Report.
Smut dealers use children to sell porn
In the face of continuing crackdown on pornographic materials, smut dealers in Ozamis City, Southern Philippines are now using minors to peddle their wares in order to avoid raids. A local councilor said that aside from selling pornographic materials, young newsboys also find time to browse their contents. There are about 40 street children in this city who are engaged in selling news papers and magazines. Source: Ryan Rosauro, PDI Mindanao Bureau, 30 September 2002.
NPA admits fielding teens in combat
The New People’s Army (NPA) in Boston, Davao Oriental admitted that it is using young recruits in its war against the government. According to the NPA spokesperson, these young recruits are subjected to at least three months of rigorous training after which they are directly fielded to the war front. Most of the young recruits belong to impoverished indigenous families. They are very idealistic, ready to fight for the revoulution, and they have very high resistance power owing to their young age. In a visit to the sprawling NPA camp by the Inquirer, it was found out that the youngest guerilla was 16 years old. Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer Mindanao Bureau, 30 September 2002.
