Mindanao court convicts 'Talaingod 18' group, sentences some to more than eight years in prison
Two politicians, Satur Ocampo and France Castro, are sentenced with 12 others to prison terms ranging from four years and nine months to eight years and eight months. Four other defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence. For the defence, the court got it wrong, because the accused acted in defense of tribal students targeted by the paramilitary groups. An appeal is ready.
Milan (AsiaNews) – A court in Tagum, a city in Mindanao, convicted a former Member of the House of Representatives, Satur Ocampo, and current Representative France Castro , plus 12 others for kidnapping and child abuse. The 14 received sentences ranging from four years and nine months to eight years and eight months. Four other accused, three religious and an activist, were acquitted for lack of evidence.
Today's ruling stems from the group's attempt to rescue students from a school that, like 58 others, was in danger of being closed and the students taken elsewhere by paramilitaries.
On 27 November 2018, Ocampo, Castro, and the others, including many teachers, tried to move 14 students from the Salungpungan School in Talaingod to a safer area, open to tribal youth from different areas, even coming from far away.
Their action has to be understood in light of the difficult situation of the indigenous Lumad, in Talaingod, a municipality in Davao del Norte province.
In this region, the army set up paramilitary groups to counter the New People's Army (NPA); for years, these groups have attacked villages and organisations, including schools for tribal youth, which they see as supporting the insurgents.
International organisations like Human Rights Watch (HRW) have spoken out against the paramilitary for years while Philippine authorities have shown little interest in curbing their action amid fear of retaliation.
Witnesses have confirmed that top military brass have favoured the creation of groups like the Magahat and the Alamara that terrorise tribal and indigenous communities, but often openly support their actions, not to eradicate communist-inspired guerrillas but to open up tribal lands to mining companies and other business interests.
The pressure is constant and sometimes brutal. On 26 August 2015, regular soldiers raided the village of White Kulaman, Bukidnon province, arresting 17 residents, allegedly for turning the Mindanao Interfaith Foundation Academy into a base of support for NPA guerrillas.
The school was founded by Fr Fausto Tentorio, a missionary with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), who was murdered on 17 October 2011 at the mission in Arakan Valley. For decades, the Italian-born clergyman pursued his pastoral work centred on helping tribal communities.
In the latest case in Talaingod, local civil and school authorities rejected the accusation that the school was used for activities other than education or that the activists were involved in subversive or criminal actions.
Despite this, 18 people were arrested and charged with kidnapping, child abuse, and human trafficking. Eventually, the last accusation was dropped.
“Instead of going there for a solidarity mission during those days, it turned into a rescue mission because they were harassed by paramilitary forces,” said Carlos Zarate, a lawyer for the accused, after the sentence was read.
The accusation that they endangered the lives of students with their humanitarian action will be refuted on appeal.
"This wrongful conviction speaks of the continuing persecution of those who are helping and advocating for the rights of Lumad children and the persistent attacks on Lumad schools and communities,” said Ocampo and Castro in a joint statement.
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23/02/2022 16:43
24/05/2018 15:07
