Short answer. As a rule, no. RA 7610 gives a child arrested for reasons related to armed conflict the right to separate detention from adults — the only exception being where families are accommodated as family units. Children in armed conflict are now primarily governed by Republic Act No. 11188 (2019).
What the law says
Separate detention from adults except where families are accommodated as family units
RA 7610, Section 25 — Children Arrested In Conflict. Read the full provision →
Separate detention is a right
The law is direct about it. A child arrested for reasons related to armed conflict — whether as a supposed combatant, courier, guide, or spy — is entitled to "Separate detention from adults except where families are accommodated as family units." So the default is that the child is kept apart from adult detainees. The single exception is a humane one: where families are held together as a unit, the child may stay with the family rather than be isolated. Placing an arrested child in with the general adult population is exactly what the provision is written to prevent.
The other rights that come with arrest
Separate detention is only one of several protections. The child is entitled to immediate free legal assistance, and to immediate notice of the arrest to the parents or guardians. Crucially, the law calls for release on recognizance within twenty-four hours — to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, or a responsible member of the community as the court determines. Taken together, these mean a child should not be held long or handled like an adult prisoner; the intent is to get the child out of detention and into responsible care quickly.
If the court finds the child did the acts
Even where the evidence points against the child, the law steers away from punishment. The court determines the imposable penalty and any civil liability, but instead of entering a conviction it suspends all further proceedings and commits the child to the DSWD, a government training institution, a licensed agency, or another responsible person — until the child turns eighteen, or for a shorter period the court sees fit. The child stays under visitation and supervision, and may appeal the suspension order as in ordinary criminal appeals. The orientation is rehabilitative, aimed at the child's future rather than at retribution.
The current framework: RA 11188
These protections still express the governing principle, but they are no longer the whole of the law. Republic Act No. 11188 (2019), on the special protection of children in situations of armed conflict, now supplies the definitions, the detailed safeguards, and the state responsibilities for children arrested or otherwise involved in armed conflict. A real case should be read against RA 11188, which is the current operative framework, alongside the general laws on children in conflict with the law. This is general information about the rights the statute lays down, not advice on a particular case.