THE Save Our Schools (SOS) Network, a group of non-government organizations focusing on children’s rights to education, denounced the recent ruling of the Court of Appeals, affirming the so-called ‘Talaingod 13’ guilty ruling of the Regional Trial Court for violating the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act (Republic Act No. 7610).
In a press statement, the group stated that the ruling constitutes the continued criminalization of Lumad volunteer teachers and community advocates.
“These are individuals who answered a calling to teach, care for, and defend Indigenous children in communities long subjected to neglect, dispossession, and repression by the State,” SOS Network stated.
It added that the decision upholds the unjust conviction of the Talaingod 13 “under the guise of child protection.”
The group also reiterated that the Lumad schools are a product of the government’s abandonment of the indigenous communities and neglect of its obligation to provide education
“For decades, Lumad communities in Talaingod and across Mindanao were denied meaningful access to basic education. Public schools were distant, inaccessible, or entirely absent. Teachers were not deployed. Indigenous children were structurally excluded from the public education system, not as an accident of geography, but as a consequence of persistent neglect,” the group said.
It also claims that the government opened the ancestral domain of the indigenous peoples to extractive interests through agreements.
“These mechanisms converted communal forests into zones of extraction, directly threatening the material basis of Indigenous life, livelihood, and survival. As communities resisted this dispossession, militarization followed, marked by heightened military presence, the formation and deployment of paramilitary groups, and the red-tagging and closure of schools,” it said.
Counterinsurgency under the guise of law ruling
Meanwhile, it also claimed that the CA’s ruling can be construed as the government’s counterinsurgency initiative, saying that, “rather than confronting the structural exclusion, land grabbing, and militarization that compelled communities to establish their own education systems, the ruling extends repression into the legal arena.”
It also reiterated that the ruling only legitimizes the dismantling of lumad schools that arose where the government “has failed or refused to protect Indigenous life.”
Meanwhile, the group insisted that what the lumad schools did did not constitute child abuse because “providing care and protection during a crisis does not constitute abuse.”
It also claims that the ruling is only a “selective justice enforced through lawfare.”
IP leaders hail CA ruling
In a statement released recently, the Indigenous Political Structure (IPS) of Talaingod, the duly recognized governing body of the Ata-Manobo community, praised the appellate court for affirming the Regional Trial Court’s 2024 ruling that found the group guilty of violating the RA 7610. The verdict, issued by RTC Branch 2 in Tagum City and later affirmed by the Court of Appeals, cited evidence that the defendants exposed Indigenous children to danger during a 2018 mission in remote Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
The statement, presented publicly by Talaingod Ancestral Domain Management Officer Datu Allan Causing on the December 26, 2025 episode of Kapihan sa DavNor on PTV DavNor 48, also emphasized that the convicted individuals should not be labeled as the “Talaingod 13” since none of the convicted are residents of Talaingod nor do they represent the Indigenous community, and the label unfairly ties the town’s name to actions that leaders say harmed local children and culture.
“The Indigenous Political Structure (IPS) of Talaingod wants to make it clear that these criminals are not on a rescue mission as they want the public to believe but are criminals who violated the law of the Philippine Government and our own Customary Law,” the statement read.
The IPS further rejected the characterization of the convicted group as human rights defenders, insisting that their actions violated both national law and Indigenous customary law. The council stressed that the accused undermined the rights, welfare, and culture of Indigenous children and communities in Talaingod.
Citing the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Ipra, Republic Act No. 8371), the IPS underscored its authority to exercise self-governance and serve as the legitimate voice of the Ata-Manobo people in Talaingod. “Let us speak for ourselves and our rights,” the statement said, highlighting the council’s role in protecting the community from misrepresentation. The IPS also criticized misleading narratives presented in some press conferences and public statements, arguing that they contradict the established findings of the courts.
The IPS acknowledged the role of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), recognizing the agency’s efforts in supporting peace initiatives, safeguarding children, and protecting Indigenous communities from exploitation. Leaders emphasized the importance of coordination between state agencies and Indigenous institutions to ensure justice, maintain peace, and uphold the rule of law in Talaingod. CEA WITH REPORTS FROM DEF