FIVE indigenous children taken by the police from the University of San Carlos-Talamban campus in February have yet to be reunited with their families.

The children remain in the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas.

DSWD-7 regional director Rebecca Geamala said the children will remain at the center until they are given clearance to leave.

“The children who are from Sultan Kudarat confided to their ‘house parents’ they wanted to go home. We are still waiting for the PCAR (parental capability assessment report) before we send them back to Region 12,” Geamala said.

“The government also needs to ensure that the tribal community as well as the municipal government are ready to extend all the assistance they need so that they can go back to their normal life before they were taken by Salugpungan teachers and brought to Cebu without parental consent,” she added.

Members of the Police Regional Office 7 and personnel of the DSWD conducted a rescue operation in the university’s retreat house, where the Lumad students have been staying since March 2020.

The 13 other children who belong to the Ata Manobo tribe in Talaingod, Davao Del Norte were sent home last month along with their parents and tribal leaders.

Gemala said that the government will give the IP children and their parents after-care service to allow them to continue living a normal life.

The Children’s Legal Bureau however said that some of the Lumad students taken by the police were returned to their homes without their parents’ consent.

CLB, a non-profit organization based in Cebu City, said the parents of 7 of the 19 Lumad students said they gave no consent for their children to travel to Davao del Norte from Cebu.