CHR Haran report revisited amid calls to reverse Talaingod 13 conviction

CAGAYAN DE ORO — Last month, human rights advocates revisited the details of a report released by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) due to its supposed relevance to the case of the Talaingod 13.

Talaingod 13 refers to Lumad school teachers and two former lawmakers who were convicted by a Tagum court of child abuse in 2024 for efforts to rescue victims of alleged forced evacuation after the closure of a Lumad school in Barangay Palma Gil in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, in 2018.

“The Haran Report: On Human Rights Violations against the Lumad of Mindanao”, was released in 2019. It arose from two opposing demands: The closure of Lumad schools and the pull-out of military presence in areas where these schools were located.

The report also examined the situation of almost 700 Lumad who sought sanctuary in the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Haran, Davao City, due to militarization.

Read: Church harassed for giving sanctuary to Lumad refugees

The Talaingod 13, which includes former ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and former Bayan Muna Rep. Saturnino Ocampo, were part of a national humanitarian mission during that crisis.

Many groups expressed concern after their conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals, calling it the criminalization of acts of care. Their calls for reversal of the judgment continue.

The information gathering for this CHR report was started in 2015. What were some of the findings that might have relevance as far as the Talaingod 13 case is concerned?

Militarization existed

The CHR concluded that there were indeed militarization and human rights violations committed by both the Philippine Army and paramilitary group Alamara within the ancestral lands of the Lumad in certain sitios in the towns of Talaingod and Kapalong in Davao del Norte.

This affirmed the assertion of the Lumad who evacuated to the UCCP compound in Haran that their communities were militarized.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division had argued that its entry was only a response to the activities of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the two towns, where it said it had monitored 17 NPA camps since 2014.

The CHR cited a published report of the International Federation for Human Rights and World Organization Against Torture, where officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) reportedly declared that the two agencies “do not consider” the deployment of their personnel to communities as part of counterinsurgency operations.

Documentary evidence presented by the SOS Network and uncontested testimonies also demonstrated that the AFP used school buildings for military purposes, which is a violation of the law.

Read: ‘Let children be’ | Manobo kids call to end militarization of tribal school

In its submitted position paper, SOS Network documented alleged military encampments in schools under the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanuon Community Learning Center (STTICLC) in sitios Km. 30 and Nasilaban in Barangay Palma Gil, Talaingod.

Although the AFP did not establish the Alamara, the CHR said that there was a clear cooperation between the military and the paramilitary group in the counterinsurgency campaign. It said Alamara having expensive firearms was a “reasonable ground” to show military support for the group.

It was reportedly the same paramilitary group that allegedly closed the Lumad school in Sitio Nasilaban, Barangay Palma Gil, Talaingod, and harassed students and teachers, which led to the Talaingod 13 rescue attempt.

Displacement

Based on testimonies gathered by the CHR, some of the Lumad had evacuated from their ancestral lands and sought refuge in the UCCP Haran to escape harassment by the military and by Alamara.

The commission cited testimonies of two datus, who said they could only work in their fields for two hours a day when the military encamped in their communities.

There were others who also left because they were suspected of being NPA supporters, while some of them were allegedly forced to join Alamara.

Read: Paramilitary forcibly enters Church Lumad sanctuary

On the other hand, the CHR also noted that there were Lumad who were deceived into joining the evacuation by members of non-government organizations who promised sacks of rice, cash, and farm implements, among others.

Although there were claims that evacuation only involved a few communities, the commission said, “massive or not, the fact remains that some Lumad were internally displaced.”

Data attached to the CHR report showed that almost 700 Lumad sought refuge in the UCCP Haran during the commission’s inquiry, of which 62 percent were children belonging to the Manobo, Mandaya, Matigsalug, and Tigwahanon tribes.

Read: IP leader defends UCCP Haran, calls it ‘a second home’

Right to education violated

The inquiry also looked into the case of three high schools, six elementary schools, and three nonformal schools in Talaingod under the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanuon Community Learning Center (STTICLC), which was established by the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines.

There were allegations that these schools served as training centers for future NPA combatants, teaching matters outside the approved curriculum of the Department of Education (DepEd).

Accusations came from tribal leaders of Talaingod and a former Lumad student.

Read: Paramilitary destroys Lumad school; leader blames Duterte for the attack

The CHR said these allegations were alarming and that the closure of Lumad schools would be warranted if these were true.

It added an investigation into those allegations must be done independently and closure should be based on clear and convincing evidence. 

However, the CHR report found that the Department of Education had not made a “serious investigation” on the matter. 

In addition, according to DepEd representatives, STTICLC officials were not given an opportunity to challenge the closure order.

“It must be stressed that the [Indigenous peoples], particularly children, including those living outside their communities, have a right to education in their own culture. The temporary closure of the subject facilities, no matter how brief, violated this right,” a part of the report reads.

During the 2018 incident in Talaingod that resulted in the conviction of 13 individuals, the military and police said the accused could not provide a legal document that would give them authorization to transport the minors involved, according to a Rappler report, discussing the court decision.

The court also said that tribal leaders only wanted the teachers — not the students — to leave the school.
After the forum conducted at the University of the Philippines Diliman on February 27, 2026, discussing the CHR report, SOS Network convenor Fr. Raymond Ambray said in a statement: “When children are forced to relocate due to insecurity, the law must be understood within that context. Education is not a crime, and humanitarian care in times of crisis should not be treated as one.” (RTS, JDS)

The post CHR Haran report revisited amid calls to reverse Talaingod 13 conviction appeared first on Bulatlat.