A Plaridel, Bulacan court dismisses the defamation charges against young environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano. They were abducted in September 2023 in Bataan while doing field work to oppose a reclamation project.
Full story: https://www.rappler.com/philippines/jonila-castro-jhed-tamano-cleared-defamation/
Full story: https://www.rappler.com/philippines/jonila-castro-jhed-tamano-cleared-defamation/
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00:00A Plaridel Bulacan court dismisses the defamation charges against young environmental activists
00:05Jonila Castro and Jed Tamano. Castro and Tamano were abducted on September 2, 2023 in Bataan
00:12while doing fieldwork to oppose a reclamation project. They were held captive at a place
00:17marked with signs of the 70th Infantry Battalion of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine
00:21Army. On September 12, 2024, the army presented them as rebels who had surrendered, but during
00:26the press conference, they went off script and accused the military of abduction.
00:31Lieutenant Colonel Dronell de la Cruz filed a defamation complaint, saying their claims
00:34embarrassed the armed forces. In a related case, the Supreme Court granted Castro and Tamano
00:39writs of amparo and a temporary protection order, banning de la Cruz from coming within
00:43one kilometer of them. Castro and Tamano's cases, along with ongoing red tagging, led two
00:49United Nations experts to recommend shutting down the National Task Force to end local
00:53communist armed conflict. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to act on those recommendations.