A PANEL of prosecutors of the Department of Justice dismissed for lack of probable cause the charges filed against members of youth group Anakbayan.

In a 15-page resolution, the prosecutors junked the kidnapping and child abuse complaints filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Jovita Antoniano.

Antoniano claimed that her daughter Trishia left home after joining Anakbayan and the League of Filipinos Students.

The prosecutors said that Trishia was no longer a minor when she left her family in May 2018.

Assuming that Trishia was a minor, the prosecutors pointed out that there was no evidence to prove that Trishia was in the custody of Anakbayan members and that they failed to return her to her parents.

The DoJ also found no probable cause to charge the youth group with violations of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

It said that the complainants failed to provide evidence that Anakbayan “uses children to participate in armed confrontation or recruitment front of communist groups.”

“Showing that the Anakbayan is an organization participating in rallies and movements advocating in social justice and human rights, complainants did not present any evidence which would indicate its connection with the CPP-NPA or the KM and on whether KM is an underground organization connected with CPP-NPA,” the resolution read.

“Further we cannot consider joining and participating rallies and conducting peaceful assemblies as acts of armed struggle,” it added.