ACT Teachers Representative France Castro slammed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief-of-Staff Carlito Galvez Jr. for tagging her and former Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo as "active members" of the communist rebel group.
“Hindi ako miyembro ng NPA, Galvez, nililinaw ko lang sa’yo... (I'm not a member of the New People's Army, Galvez. I want to make that clear),” she said in a press conference Monday, December 3.
Castro, Ocampo and several others were arrested in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, last November 28 for allegedly kidnapping and trafficking minors. They were released on Saturday, December 1, after posting bail.
Galvez, in an interview Monday, December 3, said Castro and Ocampo are active members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-NPA.
“Nakita natin talaga si Satur Ocampo is a propagandist of the CPP-NPA. Ang nakikita natin is ‘yung Talaingod, yung Salugpungan at Alcadev, ginagamit talaga yan. The people should know ‘yung Salugpungan at Alcadev is breeding ground for the NPA,” he said.
(We see that Satur Ocampo is a propagandist of the CPP-NPA, and their breeding group are the Talaingod, Salugpungan and Alcadev.)
“Yung ginagawa nila Satur dinadala nila dito sa Manila, ginagawa nilang exposure... Ito ‘yung talagang nagpapatunay na talagang itong si Castro at saka si Ocampo, they are active members of the CPP-NPA. Alam naman natin ‘yan eh. May charges sila dati sa Leyte ‘yung Oplan Ahos. Kaya hindi ‘yan trumped up charges. These are true realities,” Galvez was quoted as saying.
(What they do is they transport minors to Manila for exposure. This proves that Castro and Ocampo are active CPP-NPA members. We know that. They even have charges in Leyte. Those are not trumped up charges. These are realities.)
But Castro said Galvez's statement will put her life in danger, noting "what the military does to individuals tagged as members of the communist group."
Castro clarified that she has been a teacher for 25 years and is a representative of teachers in Congress under her party-list group ACT Teachers.
"Kung may mangyari sa 'kin (If something bad happens to me), I will hold you accountable General Galvez,” she said.
Castro and Ocampo earlier denied the charges filed against them. They said their team was supposed to conduct a humanitarian mission when they were arrested. They said they did not kidnap but "rescued" the lumad students and teachers who have been threatened and harassed by the military and the paramilitary group Alamara.
The group said since the encampment of the miltary in Sitio Nasilaban and Sitio Dulyan, Barangay Palma Gil in Talaingod in June, classes in Salugpongan Learning Center campuses have been disrupted and teachers have been harassed.
The Makabayan bloc, meanwhile, mulled filing charges against Galvez before the Office of the Ombudsman over his claims, said Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao. (SunStar Philippines)