Philippine rebels say child laws have no bearing

The Child Soldiers Accountability Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush last week, makes it a federal crime for rebel groups in the Philippines and 16 other countries to recruit or to use soldiers under the age of 15.

The Act allows the United States to prosecute any individual on US soil for the offence, even if the children were recruited or served as soldiers outside its territory.

In the Philippines government troops say they have recovered evidence linking the rebel Moro islamic Liberation Front with child combatants.

But the MILF has not only denied that it recruits minors but says the US law has no bearing on it as the rebellion is an internal matter to the Philippines.