MANILA – An indigenous peoples (IPs) group filed an ethics complaint before the House of Representatives against ACT Teachers party-list’s Cong. France Castro.
In a complaint filed by members of the Ata-Manobo Tribal Council of Elders of Talaingod-Indigenous Political Structure, they said Castro should be removed from her House seat due to her lower court conviction on endangering minors.
The IP group is led by Datu Allan Causing, Andigao Agay, and Gusting Daiyak Dausay. They are represented by Atty. Israelito Torreon as their legal counsel.
“This is an ethics complaint for the commission of what they deem as crime and she was in fact convicted by the Regional Trial Court. And this is part of the process upon which the IPs are seeking justice,” Torreon said.
“They are anchoring their complaint on the provisions of Republic Act 6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials, specifically the supposed commitment to public service, the high commitment to public service of these public officials, such as Congress members like Congresswoman France Castro,” he added.
Republic Act 6713 provides that public officials and employees “should always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest” and that “all government resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage in public funds and revenues.”
Castro and 17 others are convicted for child endangerment for allegedly holding minors during their solidarity mission in Talaingod, Davao Del Norte in November 2018.
The solidarity mission conducted by the camp of Castro, Ocampo, among others, sought to look into the cases of human rights violations by a paramilitary group against the students and teachers of a learning center.
Castro and Ocampo have since appealed the conviction, saying they only responded to the request for help of teachers and students of Lumad schools who were allegedly being harassed by the paramilitary group.
In a statement, Castro said that her child endangerment conviction is currently under appeal and still awaiting final conviction. She also called the ethics case as a “baseless harassment suit.”/PN
