France Castro | |
|---|---|
_-_France_Castro.jpg) Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Member of thePhilippine House of Representatives forACT Teachers | |
| Assumed office June 30, 2016 Serving with Antonio Tinio (2016–2019) | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francisca Lustina Castro (1966-05-24)May 24, 1966 (age 58) Tagudin,Ilocos Sur, Philippines |
| Political party | Makabayan (2016-present) ACT Teachers(partylist) |
| Alma mater | Philippine Normal University (BSE[a]) |
Francisca "France" Lustina Castro (born May 24, 1966) is a Filipinoeducator, trade union activist, andpolitician who serves as a member of thePhilippine House of Representatives for the 19th Congress for theAlliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), and has been the House deputy minority leader since 2022. She was also a member of the18th Congress and17th Congress.
In December 2024, Castro was among the more than 70 complainants in the second impeachment case filed against Vice PresidentSara Duterte.
Castro was born inTagudin,Ilocos Sur.
Castro's father was a driver and her mother was a housewife. Castro and her four siblings all graduated from public schools.[1]
Castro took BSE[b] Math at thePhilippine Normal University where she graduated cum laude. She had intended to become an accountant but her family could not afford to send her to a private school. In college, she was a member of theLeague of Filipino Students.[1]
Castro was a contractual teacher at a school in Manila for four years. She applied to teach at Quirino High School in Quezon City where she was appointed to a permanent position to teach Math.[1] As a member of ACT, she led teachers in a campaign to fight for permanent positions.[1]
Castro is the former secretary general of ACT.[2]
France Castro was first elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 2016, as a party-list representative for theAlliance of Concerned Teachers.
In 2019, Castro co-authored an anti-endo bill that sought to give workers security of tenure by the ending the practice oflabor contractualization.[3]
Castro filed in the 18th Congress bills increasing the salary of public school teachers and other government employees; lowering the optional retirement age of government employees; making Filipino subjects mandatory in college; exempting from taxation the compensation for people who render election service; shorter probationary period of teachers and non-teaching personnel in private schools; assigning guidance counselors in public schools; and the expanded paternity leave. She also filed the Freedom of Information Act, the Teacher Protection Act of 2019, the Public School Class Size Law, the Act Mandating Free Health Services for the People, the Revised GSIS Act of 2019, the National Education Support Personnel Day, and the COMELEC Reorganization Act, as well as a House resolution to conduct an inquiry into the status of implementation of the K to 12 Program.[4][5]
In 2020, Castro joined fellow lawmakers in protesting the passage of House Bill number 6875, which eventually became theAnti-Terrorism Act of 2020.[6]
In 2022, Castro was appointed as a deputy minority leader.[7]
France Castro,Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, andRaoul Manuel authored the New Agrarian Emancipation Bill,[8][9] which was signed into law as theNew Agrarian Emancipation Act (Republic Act No. 11953) on July 7, 2023. The law writes off P57 billion worth of debt of agrarian reform beneficiaries from theComprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. Castro said that the law would increase productivity and farmers' income in the short term and proposed a moratorium on agricultural land conversion.[8]
In October 2023, House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas, and Representative Raoul Manuel filed House Resolution 1393, which called on the Marcos administration to cooperate in theInternational Criminal Court's investigation into Philippine drug war and allegations of crimes against humanity under President Rodrigo Duterte.[10] In November 2023, House Resolution 1393 underwent first reading and was referred to the committee on rules and sent to the justice committee.[11]
ACT Teachers Partylist and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers initiated consultations with the Department of Education and the Civil Service Commission regarding the granting of overtime benefits to teachers, which resulted in the issuance in April 2024 of Department of Education Order No. 5 Series of 2024 or the Rationalization of Teachers Workload in Public Schools and Payment of Teaching Overload.[12] According to Castro, under the order, "teachers will be compensated for work done over and above their regular workload and beyond their regular working hours".[13]
Castro is co-author of Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, signed in June 2024, raising the allowance of public school teachers from PHP5,000 to PHP10,000 starting in 2025.[14]
In August 2024, at hearings by the House appropriations panel, France Castro asked the Office of the Vice President (OVP) why it spent in 2022 P73 million in confidential funds that theCommission on Audit had disallowed. The amount is more than half the P125 million in confidential funds that the OVP spent in 11 days.[15]
In November 2024, Castro took part in the House committee on good government and public accountability investigation on the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under Sara Duterte.[16] The inquiry concluded that the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education under Sara Duterte spent PHP612.5 million worth of confidential funds from December 2022 to September 2023,[17] which were justified using allegedly fabricated documents with bogus signature.[17]
Castro was part of the House quad committee that investigated the killings committed during thePhilippine drug war.[16]
On December 4, 2024, former Congress RepresentativeSatur Ocampo and 74 others with the endorsement of Rep. France Castro filed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, citing betrayal of public trust for her office's alleged misuse of confidential funds.[18][19]
In January 2025, representatives Castro, Arlene Brosas, and Raoul Manuel sent a letter to other House members to discuss how to move the impeachment forward.[20] On February 5, 2025, the House of Representatives approved the Articles of Impeachment, which it sent to the Senate on the same day.[21]
On June 26, 2024, during commemorations for the 42nd anniversary of the ACT, Castro declared her candidacy for the2025 Philippine Senate election.[22]
Castro supported thefranchise renewal for broadcast company ABS-CBN in 2020.[23]
Castro campaigned to increase teachers' salaries while she was secretary general of ACT.[24] In Congress, Castro is pushing to raise the national minimum wage to PHP33,000 and teachers' basic salaries to PHP50,000 in both public and private schools.[25]
In 2022, France Castro called on PresidentBongbong Marcos to end endo contractualization and regularize casual workers who have been working in government for years. According to Castro, there are more than 500,000 contractual workers out of 2.3 million employees in government.[26][27]
Castro has criticized the government'sjeepney phaseout plan, stating that the government lacks a coherent plan to prevent a transport crisis.[28] She warned of possible transport fare hikes and urged the government to support local manufacturers, and protect the livelihood of jeepney operators and drivers.[28] Castro stated in 2023 that the planned jeepney phaseout will have a "profound impact on transportation and economy, directly affecting approximately 28.5 million commuters".[29]
France Castro supports the practice of transparency and accountability through the publication of government official'sStatement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN). In November 2020, Castro was among the only 5 members of the House of Representatives to release their SALN to the public.[30]
Citing the Second Congressional Commission on Education report, Castro said that the Philippine education crises worsened under President Sara Duterte's term as Secretary of Education.[31]
On November 28, 2018, Satur Ocampo, Castro and over 70 others were arrested on kidnapping and human trafficking charges over the transport ofLumad minors from the town ofTalaingod, Davao Del Norte. Ocampo's group was released after posting bail of PHP80,000.00 each.[32]
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In July 2024,Tagum City Regional Trial Court Branch 2 Jimmy Bustillo Boco, in a 26-page judgment sentenced Satur Ocampo, ACT-Teachers Castro and 11 others to 4 years to 6 years imprisonment, including P10,000 as civil indemnity and P10,000 as moral damages.[33] The accused known as “Talaingod 18” violated Section 10(a) ofRepublic Act 7610, for endangerment of 14 Lumad students of the Salugpongan Ta Tanu Ingkanogan Community Learning Center Inc. in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.[34] In December 2024, the Talaingod Ata-Manobo Tribal Council filed an ethics case withPhilippine House Committee on Ethics and Privileges against Castro, based on her court conviction.[35]
Human rights groups criticized the decision of the court.Human Rights Watch placed the conviction in the context of red-tagging and other "bogus" accusations against Lumad schools in Mindanao.[36] ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights described the verdict as an "absurd decision that has no basis in reality", while ACT-NCR Union said the verdict was dangerous precedent that "criminalizes acts of solidarity and support for marginalized communities".[37]
In 2019, France Castro was awarded the Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights for her work organizing teachers[38] and the Febe Velasquez Trade Union Rights Award for her work in defense oftrade unions andhuman rights.[2]
She was also recognized as the Eminent Alumnus of the Philippine Normal University in 2018.[5]
