Multisectoral groups called for the immediate release of rural doctor and UP alumna Natividad “Naty” Castro, condemning President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on human rights advocates.
Castro, 53, was arrested in her home in San Perfecto, San Juan City on Feb. 18 by elements of both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This comes after a two-year old warrant issued by a court in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur on Jan. 30, 2020 for kidnapping and illegal detention raps.
PNP Regional Office 13 charged Castro of allegedly abducting a paramilitary officer in Agusan Del Sur in December 2018. State forces also linked her to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army.
Castro is currently detained at the Bayugan City police station.
The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) said that Castro has been barred from seeing lawyers and family members since she was brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City yesterday. The organization also reported that the doctor is denied access to her medications for hypertension and diabetes.
FLAG added that their requests for copies of the arrest warrant and case documents remain “unheeded.” The group also demanded authorities to reveal Castro’s whereabouts, which were kept hidden since Friday.
“She was supposedly brought to the airport to be delivered to the court in Butuan City. Family members went to the airport but were not able to see her there,” FLAG said in a statement.
The PNP only disclosed Castro’s location Saturday afternoon.
Article III, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution mandates that a person under investigation must have access to competent and independent counsel. Without legal counsel, “no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense.”
Republic Act 7438 also guarantees that any detained person shall be allowed visits from immediate family members, while Republic Act 10353 or the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012 requires authorities to disclose the status and whereabouts of an arrested individual to relatives and lawyers.
Menchi Castro, sister of Naty, said in a GMA News interview that the plainclothes officers did not introduce themselves and failed to present an appropriate arrest warrant.
“They entered the gate without permission. They broke into the front door.” Menchie said. “There was no proper warrant of arrest. They had a photocopy. It was not even her name on the warrant.”
The Commision on Human Rights (CHR) expressed “grave concern” over Castro’s arrest.
The CHR also flagged how Castro experienced red-tagging because of her work as a development and human rights worker.
After graduating from the UP College of Medicine (UPCM) in 1995, Castro worked as program physician of the Community-Based Health Program – Butuan, Inc. (CBHP) where she eventually became program coordinator from 2004 to 2018.
During her stay in Mindanao, Castro helped build health centers for marginalized and indigenous communities.
Castro was also secretary general of rights group Karapatan – Caraga in 2004. As part of the organization, she brought the Lumad to the United Nations in Geneva where they spoke against continued state attacks in their communities.
She returned to San Juan in 2020 to take care of her ailing mother, where she was arrested yesterday.
Karapatan slammed the “trumped-up” charges against her as a “despicable practice” to silence activists and critics.
“We call on the PNP to respect the rights of Dr. Naty with regards to access to her family, lawyers, doctors and paralegals, against interrogation without the presence of her counsel of choice,” Karapatan added.
The UPCM Class of 1995 also issued a statement calling for the “immediate end” of intimidation and harassment against Castro and her family.
“Maagang namulat si Naty. Marami sa amin, naghahabol. Si Naty, nangunguna,” the statement read. “Payak na pamumuhay, masikhay na pakikibaka at paglilingkod ang mga katangiang araw-araw na isinabuhay ni Naty.”
Castro’s high school batchmates from St. Scholastica’s College in 1986 also urged authorities to respect her rights and ensure due process.
“Join us in maintaining a watchful vigilance over the case of Naty, to keep on asking questions and demanding answers, to support her family,” they added.
The Health Action for Human Rights (HAHR) denounced Castro’s arrest as “shameless and illegal” and called for her immediate release from police custody.
“She is a community physician and a human rights advocate, not a criminal as the military perceives her to be,” HAHR said. “There are only a few doctors who choose to work for the poor. Why arrest her?”
This is not the first time progressive healthcare workers and volunteers for Lumad communities faced harassment from state authorities. In August 2020, health worker and human rights leader Zara Alvarez was murdered in Bacolod City. December that year, municipal physician Rose Sancelan was killed in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.
In October 2021, Lumad Bakwit school teacher and UP College of Mass Communication alumna Lorena Sigua was arrested in Bulacan. She remains imprisoned and is also facing made-up charges of kidnapping and illegal detention.
READ: Progressive groups condemn ‘trumped-up’ charges against CMC alum
As Castro remains in police custody, FLAG and CHR said they will conduct investigations to identify possible violations of the PNP in arresting the doctor.
“She chose to help people, whether they can give or nothing at all, especially the Lumad,” her sister Menchi said. “She’s a doctor, she doesn’t want to harm people.”
