MANILA (UCAN): Maria Natividad Castro, a human rights activist and doctor, walked free from detention on March 30 after the Bayugan City Regional Trial Court, in Agusan del Sur, Mindanao, the Philippines, ordered her release on March 25.
The 53-year-old Castro was arrested on February 18 on rebellion and kidnapping charges, and for allegedly being a fundraiser for the Communist Party’s armed wing, the New People’s Army. She was also accused of being involved in the kidnapping of a government-backed militia member in 2018 while helping indigenous communities in Mindanao.
Her arrest drew swift condemnation from rights groups and fellow doctors who accused the government of concocting trumped-up charges.
After her arrest she was flown to Bayugan City to face trial.
However, the court called the doctor’s arrest “repugnant to her right to liberty,” saying it could find no reason for her detention let alone holding her for more than 40 days.
“Without probable cause, the court has not acquired jurisdiction over the accused, which warrants the dismissal of the case,” Judge Fernando Fudulan Jr. said in his ruling.
The court found that there was no evidence suggesting Castro was a member of the New People’s Army.
Her lawyer, Wilfred Asis, said Castro was not properly identified in the warrant that contained the names and aliases of 468 suspects, and added that her story should inspire those who are “red-tagged”—branded as communist—by the government’s anti-communist task force.
Many critics of Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, have found themselves red-tagged by the government in recent years, some of whom were later killed by unknown assailants.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
“Doc Nat’s story gives us hope that the legal system in the Philippines is still working,” Asis said.
Human rights groups welcomed Castro’s release. The group, Kapatid–Families and Friends of Political Prisoners, said the court ruling was expected as Castro’s arrest was a clear violation of universally protected rights.
“Her release is the offshoot of the growing pushback against red-tagging and [the] criminalisation of human rights defenders and activists. There was no way for the court to have ruled otherwise than to dismiss the charges of kidnapping against her because they were not only plainly ridiculous but also brazenly contemptuous of constitutionally and universally protected rights,” the group said in a statement.
