[SIGN ON] Support the Talaingod 13, Criminalized Lumad Indigenous Peoples’ Teachers and Advocates in the Philippines
July 31, 2024
Sign on to condemn and call to overturn the ruling on the 13 Lumad indigenous peoples’ teachers and advocates whose solidarity mission with indigenous schools facing heavy militarization was criminalized and wrongfully charged as child abuse:
Last July 15, 13 Lumad indigenous peoples’ teachers and advocates were convicted of child abuse and sentenced to imprisonment of four to six years and ordered to pay ₱20,000 (~$341) for civil indemnity and moral damages. This was related to accusations that they held minors during a solidarity mission in Talaingod, Davao del Norte Province, in the southern Philippines in November 2018. The convicted 13, and five other members of the mission, collectively called “Talaingod 18”, have faced unjust charges over the past six years.
In reality, in that solidarity mission, the individuals were responding to an urgent call from Lumad (indigenous people) teachers of Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center at Barangay Palma Gil, where troops from the 56th Infantry Battalion (IB) and Alamara paramilitary gunmen had camped and set up a food blockade.
The Lumad indigenous people have set up schools or community learning centers with the support of various organizations. However, the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte and the military have labeled these schools as “training grounds for rebels”. Due to severe attacks from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), military and paramilitary, 176 schools in the Save Our Schools Network were forced to close, depriving at least 5,500 Lumad children of education.
Red-tagging and other attacks on indigenous people, advocates and development organizations continue up to now in the Philippines. These are grave violations of people’s rights that hinder vital work in environmental protection.
Read the sign-on statement below.
Statement of Support to Satur Ocampo, Rep. France Castro and the Talaingod 13
We would like to express our dismay at the recent conviction of Ka Satur Ocampo, Rep. France Castro, eight teachers of the Salugpungan Lumad School and three others for child abuse in relation to their rescue of 14 Lumad pupils from AFP-backed paramilitary groups in Dulyan, Talaingod who threatened them with violence and forcibly closed down their school on November 28, 2018.
The incident was a direct result of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s orders to close down, even bomb, over 200 Lumad Schools in Mindanao which were established by NGOs, church and civil society organizations to provide basic education to indigenous peoples communities in far-flung areas unserved by the public school system. Said orders were based on false and unproven allegations that these schools were being used as training grounds for communist rebels.
The conviction of the Talaingod 13 is a great injustice that shows how the law has been weaponized against indigenous peoples communities and those that support them in asserting their right to education, self-determination, development and the preservation of their ancestral domain and culture.
We stand by the integrity of Ka Satur, Rep. Castro, teachers of the Salugpungan schools and others who took part in the solidarity and fact-finding mission that rescued the Lumad students. It is unthinkable for them to be considered criminals for trying to save children from imminent harm.
The authorities should correct this grave injustice. We call on the courts to overturn the ruling against the Talaingod 13.
We likewise call on the new leadership of the Department of Education to consider allowing the Lumad schools to reopen for the benefit of the Lumad children and their communities.
Signatories:
Bp. Daniel Rojo Palicte, United Churches of Christ in the Philippines
Convenor, Save Our Schools Mindanao
Neri Colmenares
Chairperson, Makabayan Coalition
Beverly Longid
International Solidarity Officer, Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas
Teddy Casiño
Chairperson, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
[Names of individuals and organizations will be inserted here]
Add your signature to the statement through this form:
https://tinyurl.com/SupportTalaingod13
#StopTheAttacks #DefendEnvironmentalDefenders #Talaingod18 #Talaingod13