Ocampo, Castro seek dismissal of trafficking, kidnapping raps

Former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro on Tuesday sought the dismissal of the child trafficking and kidnapping charges filed against them by the police over an incident involving students of a “lumad” school in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, last November.

Ocampo went to the Department of Justice to submit his counteraffidavit to the charges, which he branded as nothing but a “clear case of political persecution.”

Ocampo said he merely joined the National Solidarity Mission that responded to calls for help from members of a lumad community in Talaingod who claimed that soldiers and members of a local paramilitary group, Alamara, were forcing children out of their school.

Castro, in her separate reply, said she and the others arrested were “not responsible for any act prejudicial to the children’s development.” —Jerome Aning