LEADERS and elders of the Ata-Manobo indigenous people (IP) in Talaingod, Davao del Norte have confirmed that the group of former Bayan Muna representative Saturnino C. Ocampo did not get any consent from parents to bring their children for a solidarity mission, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) said in a statement on Tuesday night, Dec. 4.
“The leaders and members of the Ata-Manobo Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) in Talaingod town tell a different story. Bae Pilar Libayao of the Municipal Tribal Office of Talaingod questions the taking of their children when there is no conflict happening in their place. She goes further by saying that it is the non-government organizations (NGOs) that bring conflict to their community because the teachers do not teach anything except to fight the government,” the NCIP said.
Last Nov. 29, Mr. Ocampo and 17 others were arrested and charged for human trafficking and kidnapping as they were transporting 14 minors out of Talaingod.
Mr. Ocampo, who is out on bail, claimed that they just rescued the children from alleged harassment of a paramilitary group that closed the Salugpungan schools.
NCIP added, “The spokesperson of the Talaingod Tribal Council of Elders, Datu Lumansad Sibogan, confirms Libayao’s statements saying the NGOs did not obtain the consent of the community relative to the transport of their children. He cited parents looking for their children and finding them among those found at the checkpoint. He also said he previously witnessed NPA (New People’s Army) commanders visiting the schools and being welcomed by Salugpungan teachers, and also saw the students being taught how to dismantle firearms.”
NCIP also noted that the Salugpungan did not secure a permit to operate as required by law, while “the Ata-Manobo Municipal Tribal Council of Elders led by Datu Gibang Apuga issued a resolution asking for the closure of the said schools for, among other reasons, failure to secure consent, misrepresentation to the parents and students of its nature, teachings of hatred against the government instead of academic lessons, and lack of respect of the tribal leadership and customary laws.”
On Monday, Philippine National Police Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said the kidnapping case will be refiled against Mr. Ocampo and his companions.
The left-leaning Makabayan bloc, meanwhile, said it plans to file a case against military officials for accusing one of Mr. Ocampo’s companions, ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France L. Castro, of being a member of the NPA.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesperson Col. Edgard A. Arevalo has countered that the leftist group should instead be afraid of the cases filed against them.
“If there is anything they must be afraid of, it is not their so-called ‘red-tagging’ by the AFP. It is the cases legally filed against them and the mounting evidences against their infamous version of ‘rescue’,” said Mr. Arevalo in a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 5. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

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