THE NATIONAL Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has issued a strong statement firmly backing the Ata-Manobo Tribal Council of Elders and the Indigenous Political Structure of Talaingod, asserting that a 2018 incident involving minors, for which prominent figures face charges, was not a “rescue” but an act of exploitation.
The NTF-ELCAC’s statement, released following the tribal council’s testimony on July 15, 2025, directly challenges the narrative surrounding the November 2018 incident in Talaingod, Davao City.
It claims that the actions of former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, and their co-conspirators constituted a “reckless, ideologically-driven operation that endangered vulnerable children and violated the sacred authority of Talaingod’s ancestral leaders.”
The Task Force staunchly defended the July 2024 ruling by the Tagum Regional Trial Court, which found the defendants liable.
The NTF-ELCAC argues this verdict was “not a ‘criminalization of care'” but a “necessary affirmation of a fundamental principle: you cannot protect children by deliberately exposing them to peril.”
It cited the defendants’ alleged actions—”spiriting away minors in darkness, through heavy rains and treacherous terrain, without parental consent or even informing their families and tribal elders”—as “antithetical to genuine care,” branding the incident as “exploitation, plain and simple.”
The NTF-ELCAC further alleged that a “coordinated campaign” is now underway to discredit the court’s decision, framing it as persecution or “lawfare.”
They raised critical questions for those claiming humanitarian concern: “Who authorized their intervention? Why deliberately bypass the established indigenous governance structures? Why transport the children to the politically charged UCCP Haran evacuation center instead of official agencies like the Department of Education (DepEd) or the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)?”
The Task Force pointed to the “relentless effort by the national democratic movement to sanctify these illegal and dangerous actions” as revealing.
It reiterated long-standing claims, supported by testimonies from former rebels in Senate inquiries and public forums, that the “Salugpungan schools” were “established and operated by the CPP-NPA-NDF as recruitment and indoctrination centers.”
Former students, teachers, and administrators have reportedly detailed how these schools “normalized NPA violence, bred cynicism towards government institutions, and groomed Lumad youth for radicalization.”
The NTF-ELCAC underscored that this reality is “corroborated internationally,” citing UN investigations since 2023 that have “explicitly recognized the vulnerability of children in isolated indigenous communities to recruitment and grooming within such schools.”
These reports, the Task Force noted, urge governments, including the Philippines, to prosecute those responsible for child recruitment.
The NTF-ELCAC warned that overturning the conviction of Ocampo, Castro, and their cohorts would not only disregard these grave findings but also “embolden efforts to resurrect these dangerous pipelines under a false banner of legitimacy.”
According to the NTF-ELCAC, the condemnation by the Ata-Manobo Tribal Council extends beyond the 13 individuals involved in the case, representing a “crucial defense against the alarming push to reopen schools that served as gateways to the armed underground.”
The Task Force stated that the elders’ “profound wariness is justified,” as these “alternative learning centers” were purportedly “conduits to violence and indoctrination.”
Allowing their return, coupled with impunity for the accused, risks “reigniting the very cycle of loss and conflict the Talaingod community courageously resisted.”
Undersecretary Ernesto C. Torres Jr., the executive director of the National Secretariat of the NTF-ELCAC, affirmed the Philippine government’s commitment to providing “genuine, inclusive, and respectful education in Talaingod,” citing the construction of accredited schools, such as the recently completed one in Sitio Nalubas, Barangay Palma Gil, as legitimate alternatives.
“We call upon all peace-loving Filipinos and genuine human rights advocates to stand with the Ata-Manobo Tribal Council,” Undersecretary Torres urged in his statement. “Defend the hard-won progress our Lumad communities in Mindanao are achieving. Reject attempts to undermine justice and endanger our children. Stand firm for accountability, stand with Talaingod, and stand for the future of our indigenous youth.”
