Court orders DSWD to give custody of 12 lumad kids back to parents

DAVAO CITY—The court has ordered the release of 12 of the 14 minors, who were placed in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 11, following the arrest of the group of former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo in a far-flung village in Talaingod, Davao del Norte last week.

Presiding Judge Glenn DC. Aquino of Davao Regional Trial Court Branch 8 here ordered DSWD-Region 11 to release the minors from their custody and return them to the custody and care of their respective parents and lawful guardians.

“The Court finds that respondents has no authority or lawful basis to retain the children in its custody, let alone, to deprive the petitioners, who are the parents or lawful guardians of such children, of their custody and care,” part of the court order reads.

The court’s ruling stemmed from a Writ of Habeas Corpus filed Monday by the parents and guardians of the 12 lumad children. Through their lawyers, the parents and guardians asked the court to compel DSWD-Region 11 to produce the living bodies of their kids.

Meanwhile, the two other minors remains in the custody of the DSWD in Tagum City. /kga