Palace: Arrest of Dr. Naty Castro not a case of red-tagging

Maria Natividad “Naty” Marian Castro —PHOTO COURTESY OF Menchi Castro

MANILA, Philippines — The arrest of Dr. Natividad Castro, a human rights advocate, is not a case of red-tagging, Malacañang insisted on Tuesday, saying it followed proper procedures.

Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said the arrest was made through an arrest warrant and the case underwent investigation by the prosecutor.

He added that lawyers were given all opportunities to contest the case.

“Hindi ‘yon dahil sa sinasabing red-tagging.  If you look at the facts of the case, it is—the arrest was made by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by a regional trial court for serious illegal detention and kidnapping,” he said in a Palace briefing.

“Dumaan ito ng proseso ng investigation ng prosecutor and at every avenue and at every opportunity nabigyan po ang mga abogado ng pagkakataon to contest it from that point na nag-preliminary investigation. If they did not agree with the findings ng prosecutor, they also had legal remedies after that hanggang dumating na nga sa korte at finile at sinampa sa korte,” he added.

(This underwent a process of investigation of the prosecutor and at every avenue and at every opportunity, lawyers were given the opportunity to contest it from the preliminary investigation. If they did not agree with the findings of the prosecutor, they also had legal remedies after that until when the case was filed in court.)

Nograles insisted that law enforcement authorities and legal authorities followed the proper procedure.

Castro — a longtime advocate for Lumad and poor communities — has been accused of being a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) facing kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges.

She was taken into custody last Friday by the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces intelligence operatives in San Juan City on the basis of a warrant of arrest issued in January 2020 by a trial court in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur.

Police raided Castro’s home in San Juan City and took her with them, eventually detaining her at the police headquarters of Bayugan City in Agusan del Sur province, some 820 kilometers away from Metro Manila.

Castro’s brother, Delfin Jr., claimed that the police did not bring a warrant with them and did not bother to inform the household where she would be taken.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said the police involved in the arrest could be held liable for possible lapses in their procedure.

The commission cited a number of circumstances in Castro’s arrest which could be raised against the arresting officers: not showing proper identification, denying her access to a lawyer, and refusing to tell her family where she would be taken.

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