THE Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has dismissed criminal and administrative complaints filed against military, police, intelligence, and other security personnel by environmental activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said on Tuesday.
The NTF-Elcac Legal Cooperation Cluster (LCC) described the June 24, 2026 Joint Resolution as a “significant legal vindication” after the officials faced accusations and public criticism over the Tamano-Castro controversy.
“The recent decision by the Ombudsman is a significant legal vindication of NTF-Elcac, which has been relentlessly accused, vilified, and subjected to prolonged harassment for merely performing its lawful mandate,” the agency said in a statement.
The complaints included allegations of arbitrary detention, grave coercion, violations of Republic Acts 7438, 9745 and 10353, and several administrative offenses against former National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya and other military, police, intelligence and government personnel.
The Ombudsman found that Castro and Tamano “failed to discharge the quantum of proof needed to establish prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction and substantial evidence against all respondents,” the NTF-Elcac noted.
The agency said the ruling underscores that allegations involving abduction, arbitrary detention and torture must be assessed through the evidentiary standards required by law.
“Serious accusations must be established by competent and sufficient evidence — not by propaganda, publicity, or any political theater,” it said.
The NTF-Elcac said allegations of abduction and enforced disappearance should be investigated and prosecuted when supported by evidence, while government personnel accused of wrongdoing are entitled to due process.
“Institutions of justice must never become instruments for political score or desperate attempts to undermine legitimate government programs,” it said.
The Ombudsman ruling follows earlier litigation involving the controversy.
In 2024, the Court of Appeals denied petitions by Castro and Tamano seeking the privilege of the writs of amparo and habeas data, finding that the evidentiary threshold for granting the remedies had not been met.
The LCC said the cases demonstrate the need for accountability to be determined through evidence and lawful proceedings rather than public accusations.
“No amount of propaganda can substitute for evidence. No amount of repetition can turn an accusation into a fact,” it said.
The task force reaffirmed its commitment to investigating allegations supported by evidence, regardless of the position or uniform of those accused, while saying that decisions by competent institutions should be respected when allegations fail to meet legal evidentiary requirements.
“Where allegations are supported by evidence, they must be investigated and prosecuted. Where allegations fail to meet the evidentiary requirements of law, however, the decisions of the competent institutions must be respected,” it said.