DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Lumad rights advocates call for the reversal of the court decision that convicted former Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo, former ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, eight community teachers, and others of child abuse during the first anniversary of that decision last July 15.
The case, known as Talaingod 13, was handled by the Tagum City Regional Trial Court Branch 7, which determined that the actions of Ocampo, Castro, and others who transported Lumad students from Talaingod to safety from the military in 2018 constituted child abuse.
The Talaingod 13 maintained that their efforts were part of their humanitarian mission during that day, as they shielded them from soldiers and the paramilitary group Alamara who forced them out of their school.
Rights groups held separate activities on the first anniversary in Cagayan de Oro and in Manila but echoed the same call where they urged the courts to reverse the conviction. The case was raised to the Court of Appeals last year, but no decision has been handed down yet.
The Save Our Schools, a movement that defended the Lumad schools that were attacked during the Duterte administration, said that the case was politically motivated.
In a press conference held in Cagayan de Oro, they pointed out that during the course of the trial, students even testified in defense of the teachers who protected them from harassment.
The SOS press conference was attended by Bayan Muna Representative and Lumad leader Eufemia Cullamat, educators Sr. Concepcion Gasang, m.a. and Professor Mae Fe Templa and UCCP Bishop Daniel Palicte.
Lumad schools, organized by NGOs supporting the indigenous communities, were under constant attack from military and paramilitary groups.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte accused these schools of brainwashing students into joining the communist groups, and in 2017 threatened to bomb these schools, which alarmed Lumad and human rights allies and led to the formation of bakwit schools in Manila and Cebu to help the Lumad students finish their schooling.
As many as 216 Lumad schools were shut down by the government as a consequence of its anti-insurgency campaign, according to the human rights alliance Hustisya.
In an interview, Castro said the Tagum court decision was “a great injustice,” as it criminalizes efforts to help Indigenous communities already deprived of basic services and stripped of their ancestral lands.
“This ruling sends a chilling message that helping the Lumad is now a crime,” she said, adding that it may discourage others from offering humanitarian aid.
Castro dismissed the child abuse charge and allegations of not coordinating with the parents as absurd, especially given the emergency of the situation. “We were rescuing the children from danger—how could we be expected to get parental permission in the middle of a crisis? ”
She also noted that none of the Lumad parents filed complaints and that it was the military who posed the real threat to the indigenous peoples.
“The real abusers,” she asserted, “were the paramilitary and military forces who harassed and intimidated the teachers and students. That’s why they were forced to evacuate.”
The Talaingod 13 case is part of the large effort to undermine Lumad villages that opposed mining and other projects that affect their ancestral domain, said Cullamat, current vice president for Mindanao for Bayan Muna.
She added that the closure of schools and militarization in Lumad communities undermines the future of the Lumad children.
The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) threw support to the Talaingod 13, as they pointed out the court decision criminalizes justifiable attempts to safeguard vulnerable Indigenous populations.
“This case demonstrates a growing pattern of using the legal system to intimidate and silence activists. What happened in Talaingod was a rescue operation in response to real threats of violence against Lumad students. It was not a crime,” the group said.
Cullamat and SOS urge education secretary Edgaro ‘Sonny’ Angara to review the forced closures and reopen the Lumad schools (davaotoday.com).
