AS President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares to deliver his State of the Nation Address next week, a coalition of human rights advocates and Indigenous educators are calling on his administration to address the plight of Indigenous communities and environmental defenders, specifically demanding the reversal of what they call an “unjust conviction” of 13 Indigenous teachers.
In an emailed statement Monday, July 21, Save Our Schools Network, along with other educators, human rights advocates, and Indigenous communities are demanding the Court of Appeals “reverse the unjust decision” and grant full acquittal to the 13 individuals.
The case stems from a 2018 incident in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, where the educators evacuated Lumad students from what they described as military and paramilitary threats in a militarized school zone. On July 15, 2024, they were convicted under a law intended to protect children.
They emphasized that the Salugpongan Ta’ Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center, the community-run Lumad school involved, was accredited by the Department of Education and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The teachers and administrators are licensed professionals.
“Their only ‘offense’ was defending communities and providing education rooted in Indigenous knowledge and rights,” Prof. Mae Fe Templa-Ancheta, a convenor of the Save Our Schools Network, told the Inquirer, adding that their evacuation mission was conducted with community consent and was “grounded in both moral and professional duty.”
Templa-Ancheta added that the verdict “criminalizes” care.
“It tells us that in the Philippines, those who protect children from harm are imprisoned— w hile those who put them in danger go free. What happened in Talaingod was not a crime. It was an urgent act of protection in the face of state violence. We demand full acquittal,” she said.
The groups also drew a sharp contrast between the conviction of the Talaingod 13 and the perceived impunity of ‘powerful figures accused of real abuse,” some of whom face international arrest warrants but “continue to enjoy state protection.”
“This SONA, I ask the President: where is justice for the Lumad children who lost their schools, their teachers, their future? The Talaingod 13 are still on bail, criminalized for choosing to teach and protect. They are not rebels — they are educators who walked with Lumad communities and defended their right to learn in peace. We must speak now — because to stay silent as they face re-arrest is to be complicit in their continued injustice,” Sr. Concepcion Gasang of SOS said.
They argued this “double standard exposes the weaponization of the law against Indigenous communities and those who support them.”
Meanwhile, bishops, religious leaders, Indigenous advocates, and human rights defenders from across the Philippines gathered in Cagayan de Oro City last week for the ‘Katungod Conference 2025.’
Held July 13-15 at San Agustin Cathedral, the gathering marked the first anniversary of the conviction of the ‘Talaingod 13’ on child abuse charges. The group was accused of protecting Lumad students during a humanitarian evacuation in 2018.
“One year ago, thirteen volunteer Indigenous teachers and advocates were unjustly convicted of child abuse for protecting Lumad students during a humanitarian evacuation in 2018. No parents nor children filed complaints. In fact, the students testified in their defense. And yet, despite the absence of harm or intent, they were sentenced to prison,” the conference’s unity statement reads in part.
Participants, including legal advocates, educators, and human rights defenders, reaffirmed their “moral conviction and collective vow: to uphold the dignity of Indigenous Peoples and to seek justice for the Talaingod 13.”
“President Marcos Jr. cannot speak of peace while Indigenous teachers remain on bail, threatened with re-arrest for protecting their students. The conviction of the Talaingod 13 is not justice — it is the criminalization of compassion. This is not only a matter for the courts, but for the conscience of a nation. We call on the Court of Appeals: overturn the verdict. Full acquittal is not just legal relief — it is a moral act long overdue,” Bishop Daniel Palicte, one of the convenors of ‘Katungod Conference 2025.’
They assert that the case is a “glaring example of the criminalization of Indigenous education, humanitarian protection, and advocacy for peace in conflict-affected communities,” describing the verdict as defying “reason, truth, and justice — and must not be allowed to stand.”
The unity statement explicitly called on the Court of Appeals, which now holds the case, to “right this wrong.” It urged courts and society “to recognize what this case truly is: an attack on those who serve the most vulnerable — those who teach, accompany, and defend.”
The conference participants also urged the Court of Appeals to overturn the conviction of the Talaingod 13.
They called on the Department of Education, led by Secretary Sonny Angara, to review and reinstate the closed Lumad schools. Additionally, they appealed to the broader public to “uphold the truth” and “stand with Indigenous communities.”
Among the initial signatories to the unity statement were Most Rev. Jose A. Cabantan, D.D., Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, and Bishop Felixberto L. Calang of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente of the Diocese of Cagayan de Oro.
The conference underscored its faith-based motivation, quoting Psalm 82:3-4 (CEV): “Be fair to the poor and to orphans. Defend the helpless and everyone in need. Rescue the weak and homeless from the powerful.”
“As believers in our Creator God and our God of History, we believe that walking with the poor, the persecuted, and the silenced is a sacred act,” the statement affirmed, declaring this commitment their “panaad — our vow — to accompany those who defend life, land, and learning, especially in Indigenous and rural communities.”
