Police and social welfare authorities filed Tuesday a complaint against a labor leader and several John Does for alleged child abuse and related acts in relation to the participation of many children in the strike over the weekend at the Dumaguete port.

The charge sheet, signed by Laome Quijote, supervisor of the City Social Welfare Office, named as respondents Felizardo Calimpong, district supervisor of the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines in Dumaguete, and several John Does, to include parents, strikers and other individuals.

They were charged before the City Prosecutor's Office for alleged violation of Sec. 10 (other acts of abuse, cruelty, or exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to the child's development) subsections A and E of Republic Act 7610, in relation to Presidential Decree 603 or the Child and Youth Welfare Code.

The complaint stemmed from the participation of about 40 or more children during last Saturday's protest action at the pier which erupted into a violent confrontation between striking port workers and the police in the afternoon.

Although there were no immediate reports of children being hurt in the melee, authorities said it was unlawful to subject them to the scorching heat of the sun, not to mention the mental and emotional effects on them.

The children, many of whom were reportedly from families affected by the takeover of the new stevedoring company, were used as a human barricade and were seen in the evening of last Friday at the pier area.

In filing the complaint, the group said Calimpong was named respondent because he had the over-all control and supervision of the strike, being a high-ranking ALU-TUCP leader.

The other respondents, such as parents of the children who took to the picket lines, strikers, and other people behind the strike, are being charged for “neglecting, abusing, (and) exploiting the children during the strike”, the charge sheet said.

Social Welfare supervisor Laome Quijote, who was at the scene of the strike Saturday, said she tried to talk the parents into pulling out the children from the area.

Quijote said she also explained to them they could be held liable in court for such act, but the parents refused to heed her warning. Calimpong could not be reached for comment.*JG

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