Castro, others to appeal child endangerment verdict

MANILA, Philippines — Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro yesterday said they will file an appeal after a Davao court convicted her along with former Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo and 11 others of endangering indigenous Lumad children in 2018.

“We will appeal this decision even if it reaches the Supreme Court,” Castro said.

The Tagum City Regional Trial Court Branch 2 found them guilty of violating Section 10(a) of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act when they supposedly rescued 14 Lumad students from paramilitary forces in 2018.

The court sentenced Castro and the others to six years in prison and imposed P20,000 in moral and civil damages for each of the 14 victims.

“The effect of this decision is that rescuing children from military intimidation and harassment is wrong and the children would have to go through bureaucratic documentation before they can be rescued in an emergency crisis,” Castro said of the ruling.

“We will continue to work for the reopening of Lumad schools for them to be more informed and prepared for the future,” she said.

Castro urged the government to immediately reopen Lumad schools, put an end to the militarization of Lumad communities and investigate rights violations against indigenous people in Mindanao.

Unjust

Meanwhile, the Federation of Free Workers decried the court’s decision, describing the ruling as “highly questionable” and a “miscarriage of justice.”

Filing an appeal would vindicate them and rectify the unjust decision, the group said.

Rights group Karapatan yesterday said that former president Rodrigo Duterte, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict should be held accountable for endangering Lumads.

Año, a retired military general and Duterte’s former interior secretary, is behind unjust arrests and detention of activists amid spurious warrants, planted evidence, perjured witness testimonies and trumped-up charges, Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay alleged.

The Alliance of Health Workers expressed support of Castro and the others, saying they were unjustly convicted in a fabricated case of child abuse.

“We fully believe that this is part of the ongoing fascist attacks on Lumad schools, communities, as well as representatives of the Makabayan bloc and all the critics from Duterte to the current Marcos regime,” the group said. — Mayen Jaymalin, Emmanuel Tupas, Rhodina Villanueva