“My father told me to just get married. Do not study anymore. So I ran away [because] I didn’t want to get married yet”. According to one of the child grooms, three horses were the payment for his freedom.

In Bukidnon's Manobo tribe, children are forced into arranged marriages or a tradition called "buya." For children as young as two years old, marriages may be arranged under this custom and escaping may mean a tribal war for the Manobos.

But last December 2021, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law a bill that will end child marriage in the Philippines or Republic Act 11596 or An Act Prohibiting the Practice of Child Marriage.

Watch this 'Stand For Truth' documentary to learn more.