The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday urged the Philippines to ensure that justice is served as it expressed deep concern over reports of two children caught in alleged government operations causing their “untimely and unjustifiable deaths”.

“Ending further loss of children’s lives to violence must be everyone’s priority,” the UNICEF said in a statement even as it called for a “swift, thorough and independent investigation” on the death of Johndy Maglinte, 16, and 12-year-old girl Angel Rivas.

Last week, Maglinte was shot by police officers while serving a warrant of arrest for drug suspect, Antonio Dalit in Barangay Canlalay, Binan, Laguna. In a separate recent incident, Rivas was one of the three casualties in an alleged security operation led by state forces in Lianga, Surigao del Sur.

“UNICEF mourns with the families of Johndy and Angel and joins the public in the call for a swift thorough, and independent investigation for their deaths. We urge the Government to ensure that justice is served, and perpetrators be held to account,” the UN agency for the welfare and protection of children said.

It emphasized that the Philippines, as a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has a “legal and moral obligation to promote, protect and fulfill the human rights of every child.”

“Children must be protected at all times and in all situations and their best interests must be the guiding principles in every action by Government officials,” the global agency added.

While noting that the Philippine National Police has already undertaken steps to investigate the Laguna incident, it maintained that under the Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict (CSAC) law or Republic Act No. 11188, a death of a child, after due investigation by the Commission on Human Rights, can be verified to be a grave child rights violation (GCRV).

Under the Strategic Plan to Prevent and Respond to Grave Child Rights Violations in Situations of Armed Conflict, signed between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United Nations Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting, the Philippine military commits to prevent the perpetration of all GCRVs within the AFP and other groups under the employ of the AFP.

Similarly, it noted that the PNP is poised to adopt its Child Protection Policy which includes the principle of respecting the rights of children to dignity and protection from degradation, humiliation, exploitation and assault.

UNICEF also expressed its commitment to work with both the AFP and the PNP on implementing both the Strategic Plan and the highly anticipated Child Protection Policy, “so that all rights of children are upheld, fulfilled, and protected”.