House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party List Representative France Castro is facing an ethics complaint filed by the Ata-Manobo Tribal Council of Elders and leaders of the Talaingod Political Structure on Tuesday.
According to an ABS-CBN News report, the complaint is rooted in a Tagum City Regional Trial Court ruling last July that convicted Castro and others of violating the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act. The court found that Castro endangered the safety and well-being of 14 minor Lumad learners by transporting them on foot in November 2018 through a dark, unsecured road in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, without law enforcement assistance, government authorization, or written parental consent.
Atty. Israelito Torreon, representing the complainants, called for Castro’s suspension or expulsion from the House of Representatives. “Even if the case is on appeal, the administrative aspects of the crime should be investigated, and appropriate penalties imposed if she is found administratively guilty,” Torreon said.
Castro dismissed the complaint as a “harassment suit,” emphasizing that the case remains under appeal. “These fabricated charges are meant to intimidate and silence those who support oppressed communities. But we will not waver in our fight for justice,” she said in a statement.
The lawmaker accused her detractors of using the complaint as retaliation, citing their alleged involvement in human rights violations and misuse of public funds. She linked the complaint to broader political issues, including controversies surrounding the Duterte administration and the actions of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
