DAVAO CITY – Leaders of an Indigenous Peoples group in Davao del Norte have urged the House of Representatives to act on the ethics complaint they filed against House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro.
CASTRO
The Ata-Manobo Tribal Council of Elders and leaders of the Talaingod Indigenous Political Structure criticized Castro and said that she should be removed from her seat as a representative since she was convicted for child abuse along with former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo by a court in Tagum City, Davao del Norte last July.
Castro and co-accused appealed their conviction before the Court of Appeals. She is out on bail.
The tribal leaders expressed disappointment and said that it has been more than a month since they lodged the complaint and they have yet to receive any update from the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
“Despite the court decision, the House Committee on Ethics and Privilege has yet to take any action to hold Rep. Castro accountable. This inaction implies that justice should not be delayed and that those proven guilty of legal violations, even members of Congress, must face appropriate consequences,” Datu Malibato Allan Causing said.
The case stemmed from the trafficking charge filed against Castro and 17 others for allegedly holding minors during their solidarity mission in Talaingod, Davao del Norte in November 2018.
A group joined by Castro, Ocampo, and 72 others conducted the mission to aid Lumad schools and teachers in the area and investigate cases of human rights violations after the paramilitary group Alamara forcibly padlocked the Salugpongan Community Center.
Progressive groups insisted that the incident was a rescue mission following alleged military harassment.
The mountainous town of Talaingod used to be one of the known operational territories of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Davao del Norte. Years of counter-insurgency campaigns led to several displacements and alleged human rights violations among tribal communities.
Castro, Ocampo, and 11 others were sentenced to imprisonment of four to six years and were ordered to pay jointly and severally a total of P20,000 in moral and civil damages to each of the 14 minors involved.
“We urge our representatives in Congress to give serious attention to our complaint in the name of justice for all Lumad people. Our culture, lives, and future should not be jeopardized by ideologies that oppress the Lumad and the Filipino people as a whole,” the IP leaders said.