Bulatlat News
By DANIELA MAURICIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Various progressive groups expressed their solidarity with former Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro and 16 others who were charged with trumped up cases in Davao del Norte back in November 2018.
In a press conference on Wednesday, July 10, former Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate called for the dismissal of charges against the “Talaingod 18.”
The charges include human trafficking and child abuse.
This stemmed from a solidarity mission aimed to bring food and other essentials to Lumad students of the Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center Inc. (STTICLC) and the Community Technical College of Southeastern Mindanao (CTCSM) that are based in the hinterlands of Talaingod.
Read: Talaingod police charges Castro, Ocampo, others with kidnapping
Read: Ocampo et al released on bail, vow to file countercharges against perpetrators
Read: CHR, rights advocates slam arrest of Satur, 17 others
The police claimed that the mission was not coordinated with the authorities and that they were kidnapping the students and teachers who they fetched during the night. A Bulatlat report revealed that the team coordinated the mission with different local government units and agencies but to no avail. The team still decided to proceed with the mission even at night time because the Lumad students and teachers expressed fear for their safety.
On November 29, 2018, Sr. Insp. Rogaciano Gara, chief of Talaingod Municipal Police Station, filed a complaint against 18 individuals for alleged violations of Republic Act No. 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 and the Republic Act No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act, specifically citing Section 10a, which penalizes acts of child abuse, cruelty, or exploitation with prision mayor in its minimum.
The case against the Talaingod 18 is set for a decision on July 15 under Judge Jimmy Boco of Tagum City Regional Trial Court, Branch 2.
‘Jail true criminals’
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raul Manuel described the charges against the Talaingod 18 as absurd, saying that the true human trafficker is Apollo Quiboloy who, up to now, has not been arrested by the authorities.
“He is an example of a human trafficker, child trafficker who should be arrested, should be imprisoned. This is in sharp contrast to someone like (Rep. France) Castro, who is a good lawmaker and educator,” Manuel said in Filipino.
“Instead, if we’re going to imprison someone, it should be the actual criminals. People like Rep. France should even be given more opportunities to extend their service to all our fellow citizens,” he added.
Kat Dalon, a Lumad and former student of a Lumad school, became emotional while narrating the hardships they endured due to the militarization of their community.
She said the Lumad schools were founded by non-governmental organizations, the Lumad community, and church groups without any help from the government.
Read: Lumads sustain fight to save their schools
Read: ‘Defend Lumad schools, our beacons of hope’
Read: Lumad schools appeal for public support amid DepEd closure order
Dalon stressed the urgent need to rescue their fellow Lumads in Talaingod because people from their community are being killed. She said that if people think the Lumads are being exploited, it is not by the organizations and teachers trying to help them but by the state.
‘Duterte attacks on Lumad schools’
Meanwhile, in a statement, Karapatan slammed former President Rodrigo Duterte for the attacks his administration launched against Lumad communities that led to the closure of many Lumad schools in Mindanao.
“The Duterte regime had the gall to charge the Talaingod 18 with acts of child abuse when it was the regime that had, in fact, gained notoriety for its constant attacks on the rights of Lumad children,” the group said in a statement.
They added that the majority of the attacks on Lumad schools occurred when martial law was declared in Mindanao.
Karapatan added that at the time Talaingod schools were forcibly shut down, Save Our Schools Network had already documented at least 535 cases of attacks on Lumad schools, including military encampments in schools, torture, threats and harassment, denial of humanitarian aid, illegal arrests, red-tagging, forced surrenders and destruction or forcible closures of schools
“This wave of terror led to the closure of 56 Lumad schools all over the island, depriving over 2,000 Lumad students of their right to education. Lumad schools in Sarangani province were also affected by the aerial bombings of their communities, traumatizing over 60 students and a dozen volunteer teachers,” Karapatan said.
Zarate also said that with the cancellation of peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the issuance of Executive Order No. 70 which created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), also intensified attacks on Lumad communities and their schools in Mindanao.
The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights meanwhile urged the Philippine authorities “to take concrete action to end paramilitary abuse in Mindanao and other regions, and end all judicial harassment of opposition figures.”
“If the Philippines wants to be seen as a rights-respecting democracy, there must be no more Talaingod 18s,” said Syerleena Abdul Rashid, member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera in Malaysia.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan meanwhile said they stand with the Talaingod 18 as they await the promulgation of their case.
“We salute their defiance and their continuing solidarity to the Lumad communities. We call for the dismissal of their case based on fabricated evidence, and for state forces to stop the attacks targeting Lumad schools and communities,” they said in a statement. (AMU, JJE, RTS) 
