“The president of the United States has claimed on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive.”
― Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation
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The issue of caring and support for our Indigenous People (IPs) in Mindanao may be summarized thus: both the government represented by the NTF-ELCAC, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and local IP barangay and IP council leaders and the leftist activists represented by the camp of France Castro, Satur Ocampo and their allied groups in the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and National Democratic Front are saying that they are fighting for the rights and security of the IPs.
It is just for the Filipino to discern which camp is telling the truth, as both have IP datus and leaders vouching for the truth of their conflicting positions.
What happened in Talaingod, Davao del Norte in November, 2018 is a case in point that reached the courts and for six long years has been the bone of contention of both camps.
Yesterday, the Tagum Regional Trial Court Branch 2 found Castro, Ocampo, and 11 others guilty for violation of Section 10(a) of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act and sentenced them to imprisonment from four years to six years.
In a 25-page decision, the court ordered the respondents to pay, jointly and severally, P10,000 as civil indemnity and P10,000 as moral damages to each minor, with an interest rate of 6% per annum from finality of the decision until full payment.
“Records reveal that the prosecution has established proof beyond reasonable doubt that [the] accused… committed acts detrimental to the safety and well-being of the minor Lumad learners,” it said.
A big group of almost 75 individuals led by Castro and Ocampo decided to conduct a so-called “National Solidarity Mission” in Talaingod to give aid to Lumad schools and teachers there and investigate cases of human rights violations. They claimed that earlier, the paramilitary group ALAMARA forcibly padlocked the Salugpongan Community Center (school) in the area.
As background, the Salugpongan schools are non-traditional learning centers with curriculums not always sanctioned by the Department of Education, making their graduates ineligible for enrolment in regular high schools.
The activists led the children out of the school to a “safer” place during the rainy night, but the group was halted at a military checkpoint in Talaingod. Since the children were minors, they were asked if they were there on their own free will and one of them said he was not, leading to the arrest and detention of the whole group. Later, the parents of the kids and 14 of the learners joined filed a case against Castro, Ocampo and others, for kidnapping and human trafficking.
In the decision, the court said records showed that the accused took the children out in the dark and on an unsecured road and let them walk on foot for three hours, endangering them.
“Considering the terrain and the conditions of the road, the children might be shot either by the military or [New People’s Army] (NPA) because it was in these areas that the military and the NPA had several encounters,” it said.
“Moreover, they might also be bitten by snakes or insects, or fall into ravine or off the cliff, or slipping and falling on the road, which is very rough and slippery,” it added. The court noted that at the time, it was also raining, leaving the students “wet and cold” as well as hungry.
“As a result, thereof, the minor children were undoubtedly endangered which created in the conditions prejudicial to their development,” it said.
Further, the court found that there was conspiracy between Castro, Ocampo, and the others, saying that the solidarity mission had been planned in advance. Meanwhile, the court acquitted Pastor Edgar Ugal, Rev. Ryan Magpayo, Eller Ordeniza, and Rev. Jurie Jaime for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Former NTF-ELCAC spokesperson and now SMNI broadcaster Dr. Lorraine Badoy has a mouthful of comments on this development. She has long been fighting the Left on this issue of Lumad schools, and Badoy has publicly shown empathy on the plight of an IP mother who spent her last months looking for her child who was among those missing and purportedly taken by communist rebels to an undisclosed location in the forests of Davao del Norte.
We note that Castro and Ocampo have issued a joint statement and called the decision of the court unacceptable and unjust.
“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,” they said .
The two said the decision ignored the testimonies on the continued harassment of Lumad schools as well as the danger faced by the students.
“Even the prosecution’s own witnesses testified that it was out of fear that the teachers decided to leave the community to a safer area,” they said.
“The justification for the supposed presence of conspiracy has no basis. Our mere presence in the highway where we met the teachers and the children is insufficient to establish conspiracy,” they added.
Castro and Ocampo have other legal recourse open to them, but in the meantime they will have to contend with the stark reality of their conviction.
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