France Castro, Satur Ocampo meted 6 years jail term for endangering minors

A court in Tagum, Davao del Norte has sentenced ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro and former Bayan Muna party-list representative Satur Ocampo to up to six years of imprisonment for endangering minors in November 2018.

In a 25-page decision, the Tagum Regional Trial Court Branch 2 found Castro, Ocampo, and 11 others guilty for violation of Section 10(a) of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act and sentenced them to imprisonment from four years to six years.

The court ordered them to pay, jointly and severally, P10,000 as civil indemnity and P10,000 as moral damages to each minor, with an interest rate of 6% per annum from finality of the decision until full payment.

“Records reveal that the prosecution has established proof beyond reasonable doubt that [the] accused… committed acts detrimental to the safety and well-being of the minor Lumad learners,” it said.

Meanwhile, the court acquitted Pastor Edgar Ugal, Rev. Ryan Magpayo, Eller Ordeniza, and Rev. Jurie Jaime for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

This stemmed from the trafficking charge filed against them and 17 others for allegedly holding minors during their solidarity mission in Talaingod, Davao Del Norte in November 2018.

A group joined by Castro and Ocampo and 72 others was conducting a National Solidarity Mission in Talaingod to give aid to 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.

In a joint statement, Castro and Ocampo called the decision of the court unacceptable and unjust.

“This wrongful conviction speaks of the continuing persecution of those who are helping and advocating for the rights of Lumad children and the persistent attacks on Lumad schools and communities,” they said .

Decision

In the decision, the court said records showed that the accused took the children out in the dark and on an unsecured road and let them walk on foot for three hours, which it said endangered them.

“Considering the terrain and the conditions of the road, the children might be shot either by the military or [New People’s Army] (NPA) because it was in these areas that the military and the NPA had several encounters,” it said.

“Morever, they might also be bitten by snakes or insects, or fall into ravine or off the cliff, or slipping and falling on the road, which is very rough and slippery,” it added.

The court noted that at the time, it was also raining, leaving the students “wet and cold” as well as hungry.

“As a result, thereof, the minor children were undoubtedly endangered which created in the conditions prejudicial to their development,” it said. 

Further, the court found that there was conspiracy between Castro, Ocampo, and the others, saying that the solidarity mission had been planned in advance. 

For their part, however, Castro and Ocampo said that the decision ignored the testimonies on the continued harassment of Lumad schools as well as the danger faced by the students.

“Even the prosecution’s own witnesses testified that it was out of fear that the teachers decided to leave the community to a safer area,” they said.

“The justification for the supposed presence of conspiracy has no basis. Our mere presence in the highway where we met the teachers and the children is insufficient to establish conspiracy,” they added.

“This is a clear miscarriage of justice and we will strongly question this decision in all venues possible,” they further said.

In an interview with reporters, Castro said she and Ocampo were invited to attend the National Solidarity Mission of the Salagpungan Schools. When teachers and students of Lumad schools asked them for help after being harassed by paramilitary groups, they only responded.

“Kung sino pa yung nagtatanggol para sa mga karapatan ng mga kabataan ay kami pa 'yung na-convict o mapaparusahan,” she lamented.

Castro became emotional and her voice quavered as she talked about the court decision.

“Kami ay maga-appeal at haharapin po namin ito face-to-face, itong kaso na ito. At talaga pong, well, we deny itong naging desisyon, 'yung kaso na binigay sa amin. Of all cases, ako as teacher, 25 years natin pinangalagaan 'yung ating mga estudyante. Ngayon, child abuse pa' yung makakasaso sa amin, makakaso sa akin. So talagang nakakalungkot. Kasi ako pa na teacher na talagang nangalaga doon sa kapakanan ng mga estudyante, ganito pa.”

But Castro is confident that the decision will eventually be reversed.

“Malakas po ang loob namin na ito ay madi-dismiss at the end of the rope. At haharapin namin ito. Hindi kami magtatago. Hindi kami, hindi namin iiwasan ang batas at ang law system natin, ang justice system. Kami po ay nakahanda na humarap kahit saan. Nakahanda rin akong humarap sa ating taumbayan na talagang wala po kaming ginawang child abuse. Isa nga sa adbokasiya namin ang edukasyon na ating mga kabataan at Lumad, itong mga marginalized sector. Kaya laban po. Lalaban po kami dito sa naging desisyon hanggang sa Supreme Court,” she added.

She also said the court’s decision will not deter her plans to run for senator in the upcoming elections.

Ocampo also denied the charges.

“We deny all of the allegations and ang lawyer namin manifested to the court, we will appeal,” he said.

Ocampo’s lawyer, Atty Carlos Montemayor Jr, of the Public Interest Law Center, said they are still studying whether to file a motion for reconsideration in the RTC or file an appeal before the Court of Appeals.

“Definitely, we will exhaust all legal remedies. Siyempre, kailangan lang i-scrutinize nang husto 'yung mga lawyers. So whether we will file a motion for reconsideration before the court which rendered the decision or direct siyang appeal ito sa Court of Appeals, kailangan pag-usapan 'yun at desisyunan 'yun ng mga lawyers. Pero definitely, whether MR or appeal, that's still on the table right now,” Montemayor said.

He added they have 15 days to file an MR or an appeal.

Former Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate said they did not expect the decision of the court, GMA Regional TV reported.

“Hindi namin inasahan ‘yung kinalabasan ng desisyon na magkahalo. Merong kinonvict at merong din in-acquit. Dahil ang inaasahan namin ay talagang ma-acquit lahat ng akusado dahil gawa-gawa lang naman ang kasong ito, lalong lalo na ng mga militar,” he said in an interview with reporters.

(We didn’t expect the decision that was divided in two. Some were convicted and some were acquitted. We expected all of the accused to be acquitted because the charges were fabricated, especially by the military.)

Meanwhile, national women’s group Gabriela called for the reversal of the decision and the dismissal of all the charges against them.

“Instead of being recognized for their humanitarian efforts, these individuals now face unjust punishment for their commitment to protecting vulnerable indigenous children,” Gabriela said in a separate statement.

“We assert that these charges, concocted by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), are baseless and politically motivated,” it added.—with a report from Tina Panganiban-Perez/AOL, GMA Integrated News