ALLIANCE of Concerned Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, former Bayan Muna congressman Satur Ocampo and 11 others appealed their conviction on child abuse before the Tagum City Regional Trial Court on Monday.
Castro, Ocampo and co-accused Ma. Eugenia Victoria Nolasco, Jesus Madamo, Meriro Poquita, Maria Concepcion Ibarra, Jenevive Paraba, Nerhaya Talledo, Maricel Andagkit, Marcial Rendon, Mariani Aga, Nerfa Awing and Wingwing Daunsay filed a notice of appeal to kick-start the appeals process.
Under this process, the RTC will forward the case records to the Court of Appeals, which will raffle the case to a specific division of the court.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo face media on Monday, July 15, 2024. PHOTO BY RED MENDOZA
In a statement, Castro lamented that while the military, paramilitary, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict remain scot-free, they, who rescued the students, were the ones charged in the case.
“Where is the justice in that? Even up till now, Lumad communities are still being threatened and harassed by the military,” she said.
Castro, Ocampo and 11 others, dubbed the “Talaingod 13,” were convicted of violations of Republic Act 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, over the transport of 14 students to Tagum City from a Lumad school to save them from a food blockade and forcible closure by a paramilitary group in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
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