KATRIBU rejects NTF-ELCAC's attempt to portray the Talaingod 13 conviction as justice for the Lumad

July 21, 2026

KATRIBU Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas firmly rejects the NTF-ELCAC's attempt to portray the conviction of the Talaingod 13 as a victory for the Lumad and Indigenous Peoples. It is not. It is yet another attempt to weaponize the justice system and manipulate public opinion to conceal the state's continuing attacks against Indigenous Peoples and those who stand in solidarity with them.

The Talaingod 13 case arose from a humanitarian mission to assist Lumad children and communities who had been forcibly displaced by militarization and the systematic attacks on their schools. The real issue has never been the humanitarian responders. It is the continuing denial of the Lumad's collective rights to their ancestral lands, education, self-determination, and justice, and state violence that forced Lumad communities to flee in the first place.

The NTF-ELCAC has consistently functioned as the state's machinery for political persecution. Through relentless red-tagging, disinformation, and misinformation campaigns, it has vilified Indigenous leaders, human rights defenders, church workers, teachers, lawyers, journalists, and humanitarian workers, branding legitimate dissent and the defense of Indigenous rights as terrorism. These narratives have repeatedly been used to justify surveillance, arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention, fabricated criminal charges, harassment, forced displacement, and, in many documented cases, the killings of Indigenous Peoples and their advocates. The NTF-ELCAC has sought to criminalize their resistance and silence those who expose human rights violations.

Human rights principles require that the best interests of Indigenous children be understood within the context of their communities, their right to culture, and their right to protection from violence, militarization, and forced displacement. The evacuation of Lumad children was undertaken to protect them from the attacks on their schools and communities, not to exploit them. Those who responded to a humanitarian crisis should not be treated as criminals while those responsible for creating that crisis continue to enjoy impunity.

Respect for the rule of law also requires respect for due process, the right to a fair trial, the presumption of innocence, and the right to seek judicial review through available legal remedies. Challenging a court decision through lawful means is not an attack on the judiciary; it is the exercise of a fundamental democratic right. Equally important, the rule of law cannot exist where state institutions are used to persecute critics while shielding perpetrators of human rights violations from accountability.

We condemn the NTF-ELCAC's continuing red-tagging and propaganda against Lumad leaders, Indigenous Peoples' organizations, human rights defenders, church workers, educators, humanitarian workers, and advocates. These malicious accusations not only distort the truth but also endanger lives by creating an environment that legitimizes harassment, arbitrary detention, and violence against those who peacefully defend human rights. Such tactics have no place in a democratic society.

Justice for the Lumad cannot be measured by the conviction of those who stood in solidarity with them. Real justice means dismantling the policies and institutions that perpetuate state violence and impunity against Indigenous Peoples. It means ending militarization in Indigenous territories; protecting Indigenous schools; respecting ancestral land rights and the right to self-determination; holding perpetrators of human rights violations accountable; and upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples as guaranteed under the Philippine Constitution and international human rights standards, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Lumad struggle is, and has always been, a struggle for land, life, dignity, and self-determination. No amount of state propaganda, disinformation, or judicial persecution can erase that truth. The voices of the Lumad, other Indigenous Peoples, and those similarly persecuted, not the narratives manufactured by the NTF-ELCAC, must remain at the center of any discussion on justice.

KATRIBU reiterates its call to abolish the NTF-ELCAC. No amount of NTF-ELCAC's lies and deception can erase the truth: the Talaingod 13 acted in concern and solidarity with Lumad communities in danger. Their continued persecution exposes the Marcos Jr. administration’s criminalization of solidarity and humanitarian action with Indigenous Peoples, while shielding the perpetrators of attacks and injustice.

We call on the Filipino people and the international community to stand with the Talaingod 13 until this unjust ruling is overturned, the NTF-ELCAC is dismantled, and justice prevails.

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Reference:

Beverly Longid

National Convener, KATRIBU Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas

Co-Convenor, Defend Talaingod 13 Network

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