AFP RELEASES P50, 000.00 EDUCATIONAL FUNDS
FOR JELYN DAYONG
Former child amazon Jelyn Dayong who was captured by the Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) in a firefight with the New People's Army in 1999 is pretty much assured at least, for now, of a secondary education as the AFP has recently approved the release of a P50, 000 "support fund" for her studies this school year.
Jelyn who has been under the care of the 4th Infantry Division since that fateful February 1999 ambush in Alegria, Surigao del Norte, is a second year high school student at Bulua National high School in Cagayan de Oro City where she reportedly continues to do well in her class.
Last year, the AFP spent P100, 000 for Jelyn's first year education and purchase of a three-hectare farm lot for her parents in Mahayahay, Kitcharo, Agusan del Norte. This year, the 4th ID needs P50, 000 to sustain her studies.
In a letter-request sent to the AFP General Headquarters, the 4th Infantry Division broke down Jelyn's expenditures into subsistence allowance (P21, 600); school uniform and clothing allowance (P10, 000); projects and tuition fee (P10, 000); daily pocket money, fare and miscellaneous expenses (P8, 400).
The request was approved by AFP Chief of Staff General Diomedio Villanueva.
The 4th ID, in recognition of Jelyn's contributions to the military, is likewise set to stage a play depicting her life and those of her nine-minor comrades who died during the Feb 1999 ambush in Alegria, Surigao del Norte. Titled Batan-on pa lang sa Kamatayan (Too young to die), the play will also be handled by the 20th Infantry Battalion based in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte.
"Through Ms. Dayong's cooperation, the Command was able to negotiate the surrender of eleven NPA minor-recruits who have denounced the CPP/NPA/NDF fro recruiting them as minors and exposed the corruption within the communist organizations," 4th ID Commanding General BGen Alfonso Dagudag said.
In a related development, the military justified its action in delaying the transfer of some child combatants to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) citing medical and security reasons.
"These minor combatants sometimes require medical attention and we have them confined in a hospital. Some of them are being threatened by their former comrades with harm so we have no choice but to keep them in our care a little longer," BGen Reynaldo R Alcasid, Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations, J7 said.
The DSWD, AFP, Department of National Defense (DND), DILG and the Commission on human Rights last March 21, 2000 signed a Memorandum of Agreement that lists down the rules that they all have to follow regarding the handling of child combatants.
Under the rules, the military should turn over child combatants to the DSWD 72 hours after they are captured.
