Justice for the Talaingod 13! End the Criminalization of Rights Defenders!

Statement of the Defend Talaingod 13 Network on the 2nd year of the unjust court decision against the Talaingod 13

July 15, 2026

Two years after the Tagum City Regional Trial Court issued its unjust decision declaring the Talaingod 13 guilty of “other acts of child abuse,” we continue to condemn the ruling as a grave injustice and an attack against human rights defenders, educators, and all those who stand with Indigenous children and communities.

Defend Talaingod 13 Network during a picket in front of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila on Wednesday, July 15, on the 2nd year of the unjust court decision against the Talaingod 13. Speakers include former BAYAN MUNA Partylist Representatives Satur Ocampo and Eufemia Cullamat, former ACT-Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, Julieta Gomez of the Defend Talaingod 13 Network & KATRIBU, Deaconess Norma Dollaga of Promotion of Church People's Response, and Koalisyong Makabayan President Liza Maza. They were joined by Indigenous Peoples and human rights groups, who drummed up calls for justice for the Talaingod 13 and the reversal of the unjust decision against them.

On July 15, 2024, the court declared the Talaingod 13 guilty under Section 10(a) of Republic Act No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act. The decision criminalized their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance and support to Lumad children from Talaingod, Davao del Norte, who were forced to leave their communities in 2018 due to threats, harassment, and militarization by the Philippine military and the paramilitary group Alamara.

The Talaingod 13 are composed of former Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Satur Ocampo, former ACT-Teachers Partylist Representative France Castro, and 11 other educators and human rights advocates who accompanied and assisted Lumad students seeking safety and protection.

They did not commit a crime. They stood with Indigenous children whose right to education and security were threatened by continuing attacks against Lumad communities.

The use of Republic Act No. 7610 against the Talaingod 13 is a grave distortion of a law meant to protect children. Instead of ensuring the safety and welfare of Indigenous children facing violence, displacement, and threats to their education, it has been used to punish those who provide them assistance and solidarity. This reflects the broader pattern of weaponizing laws, including the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the Terrorism Financing and Suppression Act of 2012, to vilify and criminalize organizations, activists, Indigenous Peoples, and human rights defenders asserting their rights.

Indigenous communities continue to experience militarization, displacement, threats, and other violations while asserting their rights to ancestral lands and self-determination. If Indigenous Peoples continue to face such attacks, what more will happen to those who stand with them?

The criminalization of the Talaingod 13 is part of a systematic attack against rights defenders who respond to communities affected by state neglect and violations. By targeting those who extend assistance and solidarity, the state further isolates Indigenous communities, intimidates rights defenders, and suppresses collective action in defense of their rights.

As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares for his upcoming State of the Nation Address, we reiterate that justice for the Talaingod 13 and all victims of rights violations remains urgent. We hold his administration accountable for the continued persecution of human rights defenders. The government must reverse the unjust decision declaring the Talaingod 13 guilty, and end the criminalization of those who stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and marginalized communities.

Likewise, with the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice-President Sara Duterte, it is her who should be convicted. She should be held accountable, like her father, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, for her crimes committed against the Lumad and the whole Filipino people.

This Global Day of Action to Defend the Talaingod 13, we call on Indigenous Peoples’ groups, human rights defenders, educators, church institutions, media, and solidarity networks to continue standing with the Talaingod 13 and all defenders of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Reverse the unjust decision against the Talaingod 13! Stop the criminalization of solidarity! Justice for Talaingod 13!

Reference:

Beverly Longid

Co-Convenor,

Defend Talaingod 13 Network