Satur Ocampo, Rep. Castro detained for rescuing Lumad children

DAVAO CITY – At least 19 members of the National Solidarity and Fact Finding Mission, including former Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo and ACT Teachers Representative France Castro,

were detained after rescuing students and teachers of a lumad school in Barangay Palma Gil, Talaingod, Davao del Norte from alleged harassment Wednesday night.

Captain Wynmer F. Calulot, the Public Information Officer of the Army's 1003rd Brigade, disclosed that based on information they received, the group under Ocampo was on board five vans when they were stopped past 9 p.m. Wednesdayby members of the PNP Talaingod supported by Army units after it was found out during a random checkpoint that the comvoy of five vans held minor children who came from different parts of Mindanao and was headed to an unknown destination.

He said the incident was confirmed by the social welfare and development officer of Talaingod.

Further inspection revealed that the group was composed of minors with ages 14 to 17, prompting the PNP to coordinate with the local government's Social Welfare and Development Office who profiled the group and rescued the minors.

Further inspection also revealed that the group composed of 74 persons, of which 10 are teachers who belonged to ACT Party-list and are teachers of Salugpongan Ta 'TanuIgkanugon Learning Center whose main campus is located in Sitio Dulyan, Brgy. Palma Gil, Talaingod, Davao del Norte.

Calulot said some of the children who were from the area were already taken by their parents to their homes. As for the others who are not from the area, coordination is already being made by the local government to inform their relatives as to the children's whereabouts.

Captain Jerry Lamosao, the Public Affairs Office Chief of the Army's 10th Infantry Division, said the 14 minors came from different parts of Mindanao, mostly from Talaingod, Davao del Norte. The others came from Zamboangadel Sur, Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat.

Lamosao said from Barangay Igang Palma Gil, Talaingod, Davao del Norte, Ocampo's group was reportedly on its way to Maku, Compostela Valley province, when it was stopped at a checkpoint.

He said aside from Ocampo, who is currently Bayan Muna president, and Castro, the administrator of Salugpongan Ta 'Tanu Igkanugon Learning Center identified as Miggy Nolasco, other staff members of ACT Party-list group, pastors of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Davao and other personalities were also present.

Angry tribal leaders Meanwhile, angry tribal leaders and residents from the municipality condemned Ocampo's group and stormed the PNP station where they were detained, demanding that Ocampo leave the area and not take their children.

The municipality of Talaingod, through its mayor, Basilio A. Libayao, already passed a resolution earlier declaring their condemnation of any of the group's activities and presence in their municipalities.

Likewise, the tribal leaders of the municipality headed by Datu Guibang Apoga, who earlier defected from the group, already made a resolution declaring that they do not want the said Salugpongan schools in their ancestral domain as the schools served as recruitment centers for the Communist New People's Army Terrorists (CNTs), he revealed.

Both the Indigenous People's Mandatory Representative Bae Pilar Libayao and the provincial National Commission of Indigenuous People's made resolutions for the closure of the Salugpongan schools for the same reasons as DatuApoga mentioned.

Calulot said the 14 minors are now being cared for by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of the town.

Meanwhile, Ocampo's group is currently at the Tlaingod Davao del Norte Municipal Police Station.

Reports added that Ocampo., ACT Party-list Representative France Castro and 17 others were formally charged Thursday by the Talaingod PNP for violating RA 7610 or "Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act" for transporting at 14 minors from Talaingod, Davao del Norte to a still unknown location.

Meggie Nolasco, executive director of the Salugpongan Ta Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center (STTICLC), said in a phone interview on Thursday that they wanted to rescue the children and their teachers and to bring them to the archdiocese of Talaingong. The lumad children and teachers reportedly asked for help after tribal leaders and several armed men threatened to destroy their school.

Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 Chief Inspt. Jason Baria said the charges against the accused, for violation of the Anti-Child Abuse and Anti-Human Trafficking Laws,were to be filed anytime Thursday.

The army’s 10th Infantry Division spokesperson Capt. Jerry Lamosao refused to comment on the incident but added the closure of the Salugpungan School was also administered by the Department of Education and enforced by the Lumad leaders in the area.

“This goes to show that the IP communities in Talaingod reject the Salugpungan schools and that people like Satur Ocampo will go to this extent in exploiting the lumads and their children,” he said.

The 19 detainees were among the 74 contingents of the solidarity mission that are now under custody of the authorities, among them minors and representatives from the religious sector.

“The students are forcibly evicted from their school. There were armed men and several other tribal leaders who brought hammers, nails, and boards and closed out the school. Before that incident last night, some leaders made the pronouncement that they no longer want Salugpongan in Sitio Dulyan,” she said.

The solidarity mission was conducted in support of the Salugpongan teachers and students who benefit from free education offered by the school, she said.

Nolasco said that Talaingod PNP chief PSInsp. Rogaciano Gara made the claims that the detainees violated AntiChild Abuse and Anti-Human Trafficking Laws for bringing the children without the consent of their parents.

“They are not looking at the context of our rescue. It’s the students and teachers who asked for our help due to the harassments. Under an emergency situation, we did not bring the parents’ consent because it was a rescue operation. Our primary goal was to secure the students and ensure their welfare and whatever legal documents they need, we can comply after we bring them toa safer place,” she said.

In a statement, Save Our Schools Network said the National Solidarity and Fact Finding Mission at Brgy. Palma Gil, Talaingod Davao del Norte was held to investigate alleged cases of attacks on lumad schools and other forms of human rights violations against Lumad communities.

It claimed that the military-backed para-military group “Alamara forcibly padlocked the main campus of Salugpongan Community Learning Center in Bgy. Palma Gil and roamed around the school perimeter, causing threat and terror among students and teachers.”

“These blatant rights violations forced the students and teachers to evacuate, trekking more than three hours just to get out of the militarized community. The NSFFM team rescued the children and teachers but were met with indiscriminate firing, harassment, and questioning from the AFP and PNP,” it added. (With a report from Armando Fenequito Jr.)