Conviction of Rep. Castro, former Rep. Ocampo, et al in child abuse case is a cause of concern for child rights advocates

The Association for the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia (ARCSEA) joins child rights advocates, civil libertarians, and other members of civil society in expressing concern and alarm in the conviction of ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, former Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo and teachers of the Salugpongan Ta ‘Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center.

Castro, Ocampo, and their 11 companions were convicted of supposed “child abuse”, disregarding the fact that they were in fact participating in a solidarity mission in November 2018 to rescue Lumad students and children who were forced to evacuate due to active armed conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) as well as continued attacks by the paramilitary group Almara on their schools and communities.

Such a decision is inconsistent with the principle “best interest of the child”, an important child rights principle derived from Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which states “all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration”.

We believe that the convicted human rights defenders were acting in the best interest of children when they rescued the students from the risk of human rights violations and the dangers of armed conflict.

Punishing them for bravely protecting children during an emergency situation is unjust.

The decision of the Davao del Norte Regional Trial Court Branch 2 to convict human rights defenders and Lumad teachers is unacceptable, and will have serious consequences to individuals and organizations delivering emergency relief services to children in need.

At the minimum, it will have a chilling effect on child rights advocates rescuing children. Ultimately therefore, such a decision will not only convict human rights defenders, but will also punish vulnerable and at risk children in conflict situations or are victims of other child rights violations such as abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.

We hope that the courts will reverse this decision and drop the charges against Castro, Ocampo, and the Lumad teachers.