The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has taken the cudgels for ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and 16 others who were arrested on Nov. 20, 2018 for participating in the National Solidarity Mission meant to assist in evacuating threatened indigenous people (IP) in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
APHR issued a statement from Jakarta on July 11, 2024 that urged justice for Castro, Ocampo and others, collectively known as Talaingod 18, after they were charged with kidnapping and failure to return a minor, human trafficking and child abuse. Prosecutors dropped the first two charges, but proceeded with the child abuse charge. Those who tried to help threatened children have been accused of victimizing them.
“It is outrageous that 18 people dedicated to helping others – including APHR Member Rep. France Castro – have had these absurd charges hanging over their heads for almost six years,” said APHR member and Malaysian Member of Parliament Syerleena Abdul Rashid. “It is high time that these charges are resolved once and for all so that the Talaingod 18 can move on and carry out their important work without the threat of legal action looming over them.”
Rashid noted that Castro, Ocampo and the other members of the Talaingod 18, several pastors and teachers joined the mission to protect IP members who have been besieged by the paramilitary group Alamara. This group, which operates in tandem with the police and military was threatening students in a school organized and operated by IP leaders.
APHR said that after three years, the trial finally began in 2021, with the prosecution grievously failing to substantiate the patently ridiculous charge lodged against the Talaingod 18. Defense lawyers expect the judge hearing the case to promulgate a decision on July 15, 2024.
“Given the prosecution’s lack of credible evidence and failure to establish guilt, we urge the court to acquit Rep. Castro and the rest of the Talaingod 18. Acts of bravery must be commended and celebrated, not criminalized,” said Rashid. “Rep. Castro and her co-accused should be recognized for their dedication to protecting vulnerable communities, not punished for their humanitarian efforts.”
“We further urge Philippines authorities to take concrete action to end paramilitary abuse in Mindanao and other regions, and end all judicial harassment of opposition figures,” Rashid argued. “If the Philippines wants to be seen as a rights-respecting democracy, there must be no more Talaingod 18s.”
APHR has been urging the Philippine government to stop harassing lawmakers like Rep. Castro, whose advocacy for promoting the rights and welfare of teachers, non-teaching personnel and students has put her in the crosshairs of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), both of which established on the basis of dubious executive orders and defective laws.
