December 12, 2024 | 4:56pm
MANILA, Philippines — Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers Partylist) said she encountered a shooting incident in Taguig City on Wednesday night, December 11, which she considers a threat to both public safety and her security.
Around 11 p.m., Castro said she witnessed a police car chasing a motorcyclist, who circled around the vehicle she and her companions were in, despite the heavy traffic.
During the Quad Committee’s 13th hearing on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs and extrajudicial killings on Thursday, December 12, the lawmaker called for a full police report on the incident.
“That’s why I hope we can call the station commander to report this incident and the two police officers, one of whom fired the shots,” Castro said in Filipino.
She warned that if no report is produced, she will view it as a personal threat to her safety, particularly given the previous threats made by former President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte.
“I consider this a personal threat to my security if no police report is produced regarding this incident,” Castro said in Filipino.
“This is what former President Duterte threatened me with, and in the daily statements of VP Sara Duterte, I am being singled out,” she added.
Castro also mentioned the shooting incident reminded her of an attack in 2018 when two people “riding-in-tandem” shot at her vehicle in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
She believes the incident may be related to her work as a lawmaker, particularly her active participation in hearings such as those of the Quad Comm.
A staunch but vilified Duterte critic
ACT Teachers President Antonio Tinio, a former congressman, said that Castro has been the target of ongoing threats and vilification. He mentioned the red-tagging by state authorities like the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and Duterte supporters online.
A staunch critic of the Dutertes, Castro was among the first House lawmakers to question the confidential funds used by the vice president and raised the possibility of impeachment complaints.
She later endorsed one alongside other Makabayan lawmakers in light of the House good government committee’s findings of “red flags” in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education’s (DepEd) handling of confidential funds in 2022 and 2023.
RELATED: VP Sara Duterte faces 2nd impeachment complaint
Castro was also one of the first lawmakers to raise concerns about the OVP’s use of P125 million in confidential funds within just 11 days in December 2022.
Along with Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party), she questioned this during the lower chamber’s plenary debates on the 2024 budget.
The Commission on Audit later disallowed P73 million of these funds, indicating potential irregularities or improper use.
This notice of disallowance was revealed during a committee hearing on the OVP’s proposed 2025 budget and was one of the reasons that initiated the congressional probe into the office’s confidential funds.
It was during the same hearing on August 27 when Sara accused Castro of child abuse, questioning why a convicted individual was there.
Is Castro convicted? The Makabayan lawmaker is currently facing an ethics complaint related to allegations of endangering Lumad children in 2018.
The complaint was filed on December 10 by the Ata-Manobo Council of Elders and Talaingod Political Structure leaders.
Castro previously said the November 2018 incident involved rescuing Lumad minors from alleged harassment by military forces.
Although a Tagum City Regional Trial Court found Castro and another individual guilty in July, they filed a notice of appeal on July 22 to bring the case before the Court of Appeals.
This explains why Castro has not served her sentence of four to six years in prison, as the court’s decision is not yet final.
Be the first to comment