THE guilty verdict of Tagum RTC Branch 2 against ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro in the child abuse case provides sufficient grounds for her removal from office, according to the NTF ELCAC Legal Cooperation Cluster.
This is also the call of several IP leaders in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
According to Datu Andigao Agay, Municipal Indigenous People Mandatory Representative in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, Castro should be removed from office because she brings nothing good to the government.
‘’She should be removed from Congress because she is the one causing harm to the government,’’ Datu Andigao Agay IPMR, Talaingod, Davao del Norte said.
Castro was found guilty of child abuse or violating Republic Act 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
Along with Castro, the guilty verdict includes former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and 11 other individuals.
This is related to the incident in 2018 when their group was caught transporting 14 minors from Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
The court previously dismissed the defense that their actions were part of their educational mission and that the recruitment of indigenous youth was a part of it.
Castro and Ocampo will serve almost five years in prison.
However, according to Datu Andigao, this is not enough.
‘’We tribal leaders agree that she should be imprisoned. She should not be pardoned. Until her death. She should die in prison,’’ Datu Andigao Agay added.
Meanwhile, in their joint statement, they said they would appeal the child abuse verdict up to the Supreme Court.
According to Bae Pilar Libayao, the tribal Chieftain in Talaingod, if Castro is ultimately removed from Congress, it would be a good thing to prevent troublemakers in their ancestral domain.
‘’It would be better if there were no troublemakers here in the mountains. It’s hard when there are troublemakers. People cannot live here. Especially the poor, they will struggle to find a living. It’s very hard if we always rely on the government,’’ according to Bae Pilar Libayao Tribal Chieftain, Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
It can be remembered that the leftist groups in Congress – ACT teachers, Gabriela women’s party, and Kabataan partylist – are urban operatives of the communist terrorist group CPP NPA NDF, according to its former cadres and members.
