Group seeks release of Lumad volunteer teacher nabbed in Surigao del Sur

Surigao del Sur map

SAN FRANCISCO, AGUSAN DEL SUR—A volunteer Lumad teacher in Tandag City was arrested by operatives of the Caraga regional police on Sunday, July 17, and colleagues are still looking for his whereabouts, the human rights group Karapatan in Caraga reported.

Gary Castro, who graduated with an education degree at St. Theresa College in Tandag City, was on his way to a review center to prepare for the upcoming licensure examination for teachers when he was arrested at 1 p.m., Sunday, according to Karapatan-Caraga.

It was still unclear what charges Campos was facing but Karapatan-Caraga said they believed these were trumped-up charges filed to harass activists.

Inquirer called the Tandag City Police Office on Monday but was told they were unaware of the operation to arrest Campos.

In a press statement, Karapatan reported that Campos was still able to contact his friends around 8 p.m. Sunday night. He said he was calling from the police station in Butuan and that he was arrested earlier that day and was presented with a warrant of arrest.

Campos, a Lumad-Manobo, was a graduate of the Lumad schools Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur (Trifpss) and the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (Alcadev), for his elementary and secondary years. He finished his education degree with the help of the Indigenous Peoples Apostolate (IPA) scholarship program of the Diocese of Tandag.

He had volunteered as a teacher at Trifpss upon graduation with an intent to serve and give back what knowledge he had gained to his community. He had also volunteered to teach at a local school in Tandag City under the Department of Education.

Campos is also a member of Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod (Mapasu), a Lumad group at the forefront of defending the Andap Valley Complex against foreign and large-scale coal mining.

ACT Teachers Representative France Castro vehemently condemned the arrest of Campos and the trumped-up charges filed against him and demanded for his immediate release.

“Teacher Gary is a teacher-leader who stood up for the rights of the lumads, their rights to education and their rights to their ancestral lands,” Castro said.

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