UNICEF goodwill ambassador Gary V. appeals to warring groups: Spare the children

By Noel Y. Punzalan

DATU ODIN SUNSUAT, Maguindanao, July 25 (PNA) - Top singer-actor Gary Valenciano, concurrent UNICEF national goodwill ambassador, visited Friday an evacuation camp in Barangay Lompong here on efforts to convey awareness on the plight of children exposed to conflicts in troubled spots of Mindanao.

“I would like to call on warring groups to please spare the children from the conflict in as much as try settling your differences peacefully,” Valenciano said in a brief press conference held after his visit at the evacuation center

“I see a stark contrast between what I read and what I have seen today on the children at the evacuation center here,” he added when pressed on his personal view over the children’s situation in the evacuation camp.

UNICEF records indicated that shortly after the collapse of peace negotiation between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2008, thousands of families were forced to evacuate and lived in some 55 evacuation shelters across the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in (ARMM).

The ARMM comprises the cities of Marawi and Lamitan and the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Basilan and Lanao del Sur.

“I cannot find any justification on children being victimized by bombings or even fall victims to unexploded or abandoned bombs left behind after clashes (between the military and MILF rebels)," Valenciano said.

"You see, children are God’s most beautiful creation,” he stressed, adding that the conflict in Mindanao remains as the biggest stumbling block to jumpstart peace and development in the region.

Earlier on, Valenciano held a mini-concert at a makeshift stage here by singing four of his famous songs to the delight of the evacuees.

He also made a vow to come back at the evacuation camp together with his whole family.

Accompanying Valenciano here were his wife Angelie and the UNICEF staff led by UNICEF Representative to the Philippines Vanessa Tobin.

For her part, Tobin said their organization would keep on track programs centering on the welfare of children in evacuation camps particularly on education, health and sanitation and job protection for the children’s parents.

“Children in ARMM live differently from children in manila or elsewhere, illustrating the huge disparity that exist among children in the Philippines. The UNICEF looks forwards to a future where all children in this country enjoy equal rights to live, learn and play,” Tobin said.

UNICEF is concerned with the ARMM as it has the lowest levels in child health and education indicators where only 40 percent of children completed grade school.

Moreover, the ARMM also holds the most vulnerable child population, exposed to a number of child protection issues such as armed conflicts and trafficking. (PNA)
LAP/NYP/