(UPDATES) A DAVAO court has convicted former Bayan Muna congressman Satur Ocampo and House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, and 11 others of violating a law that protects children from abuse, exploitation and discrimination, sentencing them to up to six years in prison.
“This is a clear miscarriage of justice, and we will strongly question this decision in all venues possible,” Ocampo and Castro said in a joint statement, after the Tagum City Regional Trial Court Branch 2 convicted them of violating Republic Act. 7610, which punishes a person if he or she is found to have been responsible for conditions prejudicial to a child’s development.
The decision stemmed from the transport of students to Tagum City from the Dulyan campus on Nov. 28, 2018. The accused joined the November 2018 mission, which, they argued, aimed to rescue Lumad schools from a food blockade and forcible closure of the school by a paramilitary group in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
But the court said that the prosecution “established proof beyond reasonable doubt” that Ocampo, Castro, Nolasco, Madamo, Poquito, Andagkit, Aga, Rendon, Paraba, Awing, Daunsay, Talledo, and Ibarra “committed acts detrimental to the safety and well-being of the minor Lumad learners by keeping them in their company and transporting them on foot in the evening for three (3) hours, more or less, on a remote, dark and unsecured road without the assistance and presence of the law enforcement, any government agency, or written permission and consent of the minor’s parents and exposing the said minors to danger and hazards by traveling in the middle of the night, thereby compromising their safety and creating conditions prejudicial to their development.”
The road from Sitio Dulyan to Sitio Butay, which the accused and the children traversed at night, was secluded, dark, remote and dangerous, the court said. Considering the terrain and the conditions of the road, the children might be shot either by the military or NPA (the communist New People’s Army) because it was in these areas that the military and the NPA had several encounters.”
“Moreover, they might also be bitten by snakes or insects, or fall into” a ravine or off a cliff, or slip and fall on the road, “which is very rough and slippery,” the court said. “In fact, during the said incident, it was raining when they left the school,” the court said.
The court said there was “no valid justification nor authority to take the 14 minor students out of Dulyan campus.”
Also convicted were Ma. Eugenia Victoria Nolasco, Jesus Madamo, Meriro Poquita, Maricel Andagkit, Marcial Rendon, Marianne Aga, Jennevive Paraba, Nerhaya Talledo, Ma. Concepcion Ibarra, Nerfa Awing, and Wingwing Daunsay. They face four years, nine months and 11 days up to six years, eight months, and one day in prison.
The court also ordered them to pay, jointly and severally, “each of the minor victims” civil indemnity of P10,000 and P10,000 in moral damages, plus interest at the rate of 6 percent per year if and when the decision becomes final until fully paid.
According to the decision, Castro had said that she and Ocampo were only invited to join a rescue mission.
“We’re the ones protecting the rights of the youth, and now we’re convicted,” Castro said in Filipino.
A fellow lawmaker, Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, defended her in a statement.
Castro “and other advocates in the Talaingod humanitarian rescue mission… did not hesitate to bring the Lumad students to safety” when they confirmed that “paramilitary troops” were attacking schools, Manuel said.
“I’m a bit emotional because, as a teacher, my job is to take care of the welfare of the students and, of course, to provide knowledge. Then this is the kind of case they will file against me,” Castro said.
The lawmaker, who will run for senator in the 2025 elections, said the court’s decision does not change her political plans.
Be the first to comment