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THE Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) over the weekend called on the Philippine government to immediately drop what the group called as trumped-up “kidnapping” and “human trafficking” charges against a sitting congresswoman and 17 other people who were trying to assist indigenous communities harassed by a paramilitary group,

The APHR said this after its member, ACT Rep. France Castro, was arrested on Friday after a convoy she was travelling in was stopped at a military checkpoint outside of Talaingod town in Davao del Norte. The group noted that the convoy was part of a so-called National Solidarity Mission (NSM) which had travelled to the region to provide humanitarian aid to a school of children belonging to the indigenous Lumad community.

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“These baseless charges against Congresswoman France Castro and 17 other people appear to be purely politically motivated and must be dropped immediately,” said APHR chair Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament.

Santiago said, “Instead of targeting those trying to assist beleaguered indigenous communities, the Philippines authorities should do much more to end abuse by paramilitary groups in Mindanao.”

Police claimed that the members of the NSM were charged and detained because they had illegally transported 14 Lumad students from the school without their parents’ consent.

The NSM, however, say they were attempting to temporarily move the children to a safe shelter, since the school had suffered harassment by a local paramilitary group, who had forcibly closed the schooland imposed a blockade on food entering the community. The delegation say teachers and students had felt threatened by the paramilitary group’s presence and asked for their help to leave the area.

Apart from Castro, the 18 people eventually charged include a former congressman Satur Ocampo, four Protestant ministers and teachers from the school.

The 18 have been charged under the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 and the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act for “kidnapping and failure to return a minor”. They were released on bail late Saturday, but the investigation against them is ongoing.

APHR said paramilitary groups in the Mindanao have a track record of human rights abuses. It said that in 2015, Human Rights Watch documented how paramilitary groups in the region committed violence against indigenous communities, including by harassing students at tribal schools which they claim indoctrinate students in communist ideology.

APHR also noted that since President Duterte took office in 2016, his administration has stepped up what it called as “judicial harassment of opposition lawmakers.” It noted that two senators, Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes, have been arrested on what it called as trumped-up criminal charges

APHR said that in February, Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate also faced charges, including conducting a rally without a permit under Section 13(a) of the Public Assembly Act after he staged a protest against the visit of US President Donald Trump to the Philippines the year before.

“The systematic attempts by the Duterte administration to use fabricated criminal charges against members of the opposition are deeply worrying and must end immediately. The Philippine people, and those elected to represent them, must be allowed to voice peaceful criticism against the authorities without fear of arrest and harassment,” said Santiago.

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