“As Church, we are challenged by our present time and context to stand for truth… The Church will not and cannot be neutral on moral and ethical issues and concerns.”
Last week, the Department of Justice announced it had filed, before the Regional Trial Court in Iligan City, 55 charges of “terrorism financing” against four nuns and a dozen other individuals associated with the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Region.
“Despite these clearances, the RMP sisters, Dingkay, and other RMP staff have been recklessly charged before the Department of Justice by the Anti-Money Laundering Council seemingly on the mere dubious say so of polluted and ill-motivated sources and apparently on a prejudged examination of the subject accounts,” the lawyers’ group said in a press statement. “From our perspective, this is not only weaponization of the law but weaponization against the very lawyers fighting such insidious policy and practice,” it said.
The lawyers said that to indict the 16 individuals based on “unvetted or still to be clarified statements is to act on rumors." “No less than the Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to heed the principles of justice, truth and fairness in the conduct of its duty to the public which it has sworn to serve,” they said.
Dr. Maria Natividad Castro (File photo) MANILA - Malacanang on Tuesday said the arrest of Dr. Maria Natividad Castro was not a case of red-tagging, adding that proper procedures were followed by the authorities. In a press briefing, Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said Castro was arrested based on a warrant issued by a Regional Trial Court (RTC) for serious illegal detention and kidnapping. "May(there is) specific crimethat was the cause of the warrant of arrest issued by the RTC court," Nograles said. "Hindi siya case ng (It's not) red-tagging." Nograles said all law enforcement authorities maintained that all legal protocols and procedures were followed in arresting Castro. "If they did not agree with the findings ng (of) prosecutor, they also had legal remedies after that hanggang dumating na nga sa korte at finile at sinampa sa korte (until it was filed in court)," Nograles said. Castro was allegedly involved in the felonious kidnap