CEBU CITY—At least seven persons arrested by police face charges for bringing to this city 19 minors from a lumad group in Davao del Norte who fled their ancestral land out of fear of a growing military presence there.
The seven people would be charged with illegal detention, kidnapping and trafficking in persons, according to Brig. Gen. Ronnie Montejo, Central Visayas police director.
The lumad minors were supposedly rescued by police from the University of San Carlos, a Catholic school, in Cebu City on Monday (Feb. 15).
Montejo said the indigenous children, belonging to the Manobo tribe, had been staying in the university’s retreat house since 2018.
He said the children were being indoctrinated and exploited by Salugpungan Ta’ Tanu Igkanogan, a group that operates schools for lumad children in Mindanao areas where there are no regular schools, and are being used to generate attendance in anti-government protest rallies.