APCHRP: One year on, the unjust conviction of the Talaingod 13 on trumped-up charges remains unchanged

Last 15th July marked the first anniversary of the unjust conviction of the Talaingod 13, which includes former ACT-Teachers Partylist Representative France Castro, former Bayan Muna Rep. Ka Satur Ocampo, and 11 volunteer teachers and defenders of indigenous peoples’ rights. They were falsely accused of kidnapping and child abuse simply for extending humanitarian aid and support to Lumad communities affected by militarization.

The accusations stemmed from a National Solidarity Mission held in 2018, led by church workers, Lumad teachers, and human rights organizations, in response to the forced evacuation of Salugpungan teachers and students in Talaingod, Davao del Norte. The evacuation was met with harassment, intimidation, and the forced closure of Lumad schools by the paramilitary group Alamara, backed by state forces.‎

These trumped-up charges by the local court in Tagum, Davao, are unjust and another example of the weaponization of the law under the former Duterte regime. This is affirmed by the rescued Lumad students who were displaced following the forced closure of their schools – Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center Inc. (STTICLC) and the Community Technical College of Southeastern Mindanao (CTCSM). According to a report by Bulatlat, one Lumad student testified that they were never forced to leave and that those accused were simply offering care and assistance to the Lumad communities amid the threats they were facing.

The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) calls for the reversal of the trumped-up charges against the Talaingod 13 and urges the Marcos Jr. administration to end the militarization of Lumad communities. We demand the immediate withdrawal of military troops from rural areas, where they have been sowing violence and terror through brutal counterinsurgency operations.

Additionally, we call for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which has spearheaded the persecution of human rights defenders and criminalization of dissent in the country. We stand in solidarity with all those who resist injustice and continue to support Lumad communities in their struggle for land, education, and self-determination.

#DefendTalaingod13
#AbolishNTFELCAC
#StopTheAttacks