Castro to run for Senate unfazed by child abuse conviction

ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro stressed on Tuesday that she would not be deterred from seeking a Senate seat despite the ruling of the Tagum Regional Trial Court finding her guilty of committing child abuse in 2018.

In late June, Castro announced that the Makabayan bloc is planning to field a 12-strong Senate slate in the upcoming 2025 mid-term elections in an attempt to reorganize the upper chamber likely dominated anew with familiar names, including the Marcoses and the Dutertes.

Her bid to seek a seat in the Senate, however, is now in jeopardy after she was convicted by the Tagum court on Monday.

But Castro is unfazed by the legal challenge, saying it would not discourage her “from [my] plans to run for the Senate in the 2025 midterm elections.”

Castro, along with former Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo and 11 others, was charged with violating Section 10(a) of the Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act for allegedly abducting 14 Lumad students of Salugpungan Ta Tanu Ingkanogan Community Learning Center Inc. in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, in November 2018.

But the defense’s camp vehemently denied that it was a rescue mission as the minors were reportedly facing harassment, threats, and forcible closure of their Lumad schools by the armed paramilitary group Alamara.

In an interview on Tuesday, Castro said she and her cohorts would file an appeal to the higher courts, such as the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, to overturn the “wrongful” conviction.

“As we know, the decision is not yet final. We still have the CA and Supreme Court. Not until the case is final, the conviction is also not yet final,” she said.

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the verdict of the Tagum court “shows that no one is above the law,” and “it signifies a crucial step in ending the exploitation of indigenous communities and safeguarding vulnerable minors from abduction and indoctrination with divisive ideologies.”

Castro, however, lamented that Año’s statement only indicates their further attempts to legitimize their red tagging and perpetuate their campaign of harassment against progressive individuals and organizations.

"We know that Año's former boss, Rodrigo Duterte, is still influential in Mindanao and that the NTF-ELCAC is hellbent on having us convicted on trumped-up charges," she stressed.

"As it is, we will face this trumped-up charge head-on even if we reach the Supreme Court," she added.