Arraignment of abduction survivors postponed anew
MANILA – An environmental defender abducted by the military expressed her frustration over the sudden postponement of their arraignment on March 24, Monday by a local court in Plaridel, Bulacan.
Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano, both survivors of abduction, are facing charges of grave oral defamation after they revealed in a September 2023 press conference that they were abducted and were not rebel returnees as claimed by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Read: 2 environmental activists defy military, expose abduction
This is the third time that the hearing was postponed, Castro said. The latest postponement was due to the judge’s illness, following earlier postponements caused by court repairs and unresolved motions filed by the defendants to quash and transfer the case. “Today is yet another date for our arraignment that I’ve lost count of.”
“We arrived here in Plaridel only to be told that the arraignment was canceled. This is part of the slow justice system in the Philippines. To begin with, there should have been no case filed against us, yet here we are, being made to suffer. Time and resources of environmental organizations and human rights advocates are being wasted,” Castro said.
On Sept. 2, 2023, Tamano and Castro were reportedly abducted by the 70th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Orion, Bataan. Seventeen days later, (Sept. 19, 2023), they were presented to the media by the local government of Plaridel, Bulacan and the NTF-ELCAC where they revealed that they were abducted.
Read: After being released from military custody, 2 activists vow to continue fight vs reclamation
They have filed motions to quash the case and transfer it to another court due to safety concerns as their abductors are based in Bulacan.
Mattie Balagat of the Environmental Defenders Congress described the delay as a “blatant act of retaliation.”
“The charges are not just an attack on Jhed and Jonila but on all environmental defenders who dare protect the environment from plunder. The AFP and NTF-ELCAC are clearly scrambling to cover up their humiliation after Jhed and Jonila courageously exposed their black-propaganda operations,” Balagat said.
Castro said that charges against them must be dismissed because they are the victims. “We were abducted by soldiers. This is blatant fascism where we, the victims, are being charged. We appeal not just for Jhed and myself but for all environmental defenders who are victims of state repression.”
“Environmental defenders should be heard because what we do is not for ourselves but for the environment and the rights of the people. Environmental defenders should be protected, not attacked by the state,” Castro stressed.
March 24 also marked the first year of the abduction of environmental defenders Eco Dangla and Joak Tiong in Pangasinan. Their petition for writ of amparo is currently pending at the Court of Appeals.
Castro said that they will not be intimidated or silenced by any form of harassment, stressing that they will continue to fight and call for justice not only for them but also for all victims of state repression.
“The charges against us are a blatant attempt to cover up the AFP’s and NTF-ELCAC’s black propaganda operations. We demand the immediate dismissal of these baseless charges and a permanent protection order for Eco Dangla,” Castro said. (DAA)
The post Arraignment of abduction survivors postponed anew appeared first on Bulatlat.
Leave a Comment