LEADERS of an indigenous peoples group last night filed an ethics complaint against Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) in connection with her conviction for child abuse by a local court in Davao del Norte.
The Ata-Manobo Tribal Council of Elders and leaders of the Talaingod-Indigenous Political Structure (IPS), represented by lawyer Israelito Torreon, filed the complaint filed the complaint before the House Committee on Ethics chaired by Rep. Felimon Espares (COOP NATCCO).
The group, led by Datu Andigao Agay and Datu Allan Causing Admo and Datu Guting Dalyat Dausay, wants Castro expelled following the recent verdict of a Tagum City court convicting her, former Bayan Muna Rep. Ocampo and 11 other respondents for child abuse for allegedly holding 14 minor students during their solidarity mission in Talaingod, Davao del Norte in November 2018.
Castro, who is appealing the lower court’s decision, was meted with imprisonment of four to six years for violating Section 10(a) of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act (Republic Act 7610).
The IP leaders also anchored their complaint on the provisions of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The ethics committee has the power to recommend penalties to the plenary, such as a simple reprimand, suspension or even expulsion, which happened in the case of Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves, Jr., who is wanted for the 2023 murder of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo.
During a budget hearing last August, Vice President Sara Duterte questioned why Castro, “a person convicted of child abuse, is still sitting in a seat (in Congress).”
The lawmaker was one of the three militant Makabayan bloc members who endorsed the impeachment complaint against Duterte filed by groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) last week for betrayal of public trust for her alleged misuse of hundreds of millions in confidential funds in both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), which she used to head as concurrent education secretary.
In a statement, Castro assailed the complaint, calling it “another baseless harassment suit akin to the trumped-up charges.”
“We know the people behind these harassment suits. They are the same individuals being exposed as gross human rights violators and plunderers of the people’s money,” she said, adding that the group behind the complaint are just supposedly trying to get back at her for “their sins to the people.”
While she did not identify them, she said these people are connected with the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte “whose fake war on drugs and extrajudicial killings were exposed by the House quad committee.”
Castro also mentioned the revelations about the Vice President’s misuse of confidential funds and the impeachment she is facing as motivations for the filing of the ethics complaint against her.
“Kaya ngayon ay kinakalampag nila ang mga kapwa red-tagger nila sa NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) para harasin ang mga tulad namin na naglantad sa kanilang kalokohan (That why they’re now shaking down their fellow red-taggers in the NTF-ELCAC to harass people like us who are exposing their wrongdoings),” she said.
