Satur, Castro to appeal child abuse conviction before CA

MANILA, Philippines — Former Bayan Muna lawmaker Satur Ocampo, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and 11 others have formally notified a Tagum court of their intention to appeal their conviction on a child abuse case before the Court of Appeals (CA).

Castro, Ocampo and the rest of the “Talaingod 13” filed a notice of appeal on July 22 asking the Tagum Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 2 to give due course to the appeal and to elevate the records of the case to the CA.

They are appealing the RTC’s verdict finding them guilty of endangering minors in 2018 when they supposedly rescued 14 Lumad students from paramilitary forces, convicting them of violation of Section 10(a), Article VI of Republic Act No. 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.

The court had sentenced them to four years to six years imprisonment and ordered them to pay, jointly and severally, P10,000 as civil indemnity and P10,000 as moral damages to each minor.