IP group files ethics rap vs Castro; VP's hand seen

A group of indigenous people (IP) filed on Tuesday afternoon a complaint against ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro before the committee on ethics of the House of Representatives for allegedly endangering 14 indigenous lumad children in 2018.

- By JOSE RODEL CLAPANO

The complainants were led by Datu Allan Causing Admo from the IP's mandatory representative, who belongs to the Talaingod tribe in Davao del Norte.

Lawyer Israelito Torreon, legal counsel of the complainant, said the objective of the complaint is to get justice for the IPs that were violated by Castro.

In a statement, Castro decried the complaint as another baseless harassment suit akin to the trumped-up charges filed against the respondents, also known as the "Talaingod 13."

"For the record, the case against me, Ka Satur Ocampo and our lumad co-accused is still under appeal (at the Court of Appeals). There is no final verdict yet," she said.