‘Talaingod 13’ files notice of conviction appeal
The so-called “Talaingod 13,” led by former lawmaker Satur Ocampo and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, have given their notice of appeal before the Davao regional trial court that convicted them of child abuse in connection with a 2018 rescue mission for lumad students and teachers in the southern province.
In a five-page submission filed on July 22, Ocampo and Castro notified the Tagum RTC Branch 2 that they would appeal its July 3 decision to convict them before the Court of Appeals.
Also convicted were Eugenia Nolasco, Jesus Madamo, Meriro Poquita, Concepcion Ibarra, Jenevive Paraba, Nerhaya Talledo, Maricel Andagkit, Marcial Rendon, Marianie Aga, Nerfa Awing and Wingwing Daunsay.
All 13 were sentenced to four to six years and ordered to pay a fine of P20,000 over supposedly “exposing the minors to hazard” when they kept the students in their company and transported them on foot in the evening for three hours in the dark and without permission from their parents.
The 13 joined a solidarity mission to Talaingod in November 2018 in response to reports of a paramilitary group harassing local indigenous communities.
They helped evacuate some students at a local school after they received reports that they were being threatened by the paramilitary, but were arrested the next day on charges of kidnapping and failure to return a minor, human trafficking, and child abuse.
Prosecutors eventually dropped the first two charges, but proceeded with the child abuse charge that led to their conviction last week.
The activists, who were represented by the Ateneo Legal Aid Services Office, Public Interest Law Center and National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, did not say when they planned to elevate the appeal to the appellate court.
But in a separate statement announcing the notice, Castro—who is also House deputy minority leader—lamented that they were being charged “while the military, paramilitary group and the (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) who are the perpetrators of harassment against the teachers and students of the lumad schools remain scot free.”
“Where is the justice in that? Even up till now, tribal communities are still being threatened and harassed by the military,” Castro said.
