The unjust guilty verdict handed down by the Tagum Regional Trial Court against Rep. France Castro, former Rep. Satur Ocampo and several other individuals, is a direct attack of the fascist US-Marcos regime against the democratic and patriotic forces of the Filipino people. We join the broad masses of the Filipino people in roundly condemning this grave act of political persecution.

It is a gross political and historical distortion that Castro, Ocampo et al are being painted as criminals for rescuing and providing safe haven for lumad Manobo children and their teachers amid the attacks by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against their community in 2018. The military occupation of the villages in Talaingod was carried out on direct orders by then president Duterte himself to shut down more than 200 Lumad community schools, purportedly for being part of the education program of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army for Lumad communities. The indigenous villages of Talaingod and many other towns in Mindanao are still under military rule to this day.

The conviction is obviously an opening shot of the fascist Marcos regime against the Makabayan coalition of patriotic and democratic parties, which has recently announced plans to vie for senate seats in the upcoming elections. This forms part of the Marcos regime’s campaign to stifle the people’s dissent. This will surely backfire against the US-Marcos regime as it will only rouse further the indignation of the masses of the Filipino people who are suffering from gross oppression, exploitation and political repression under their rule.