'Itong mga bata, nagyayabang lang': Alleged cult leader denies child abuse allegations

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<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2821604" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>MANILA — The leader of an alleged Surigao del Norte-based cult on Thursday denied that he sanctioned child marriages and stopped scores of children from attending school. During a Senate hearing, Sen. Risa Hontiveros leveled accusations of rape, human trafficking, and forcing teens to swim in human feces against leaders of the group Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc., which she labelled as a cult. &quot;Itong mga bata na ito nagyayabang lang,&quot; the group&#x27;s leader Jey Rence Quilario said in a mix of Surigaonon and Cebuano, translated by Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, when asked about alleged child marriages.(The children are only boasting.)Addressing accusations that he barred children from going to school, Quilario added, &quot;Hindi ‘yan totoo, sir. Ang mga bata, pinapayagan naman ‘yan lumabas. Hindi naman ‘yan kinukulong.&quot; &quot;Puwede [silang mag-aral]. Walang pumipigil sa kanila,&quot; added Quilario, who allegedly goes by the name &quot;Senior Agila&quot;. (That is not true. The children are allowed to go out. They can study. No one is stopping them.)Dela Rosa warned Quilario that he could be detained if he was found to be lying before the Senate. Socorro, Surigao del Norte Mayor Riza Rafonselle Taruc-Timcang, meanwhile, backed allegations that children were barred from leaving the group&#x27;s mountain community. &quot;Talagang binawalan nilang bumaba ang mga bata. In 2019, [there was] massive dropout of enrollees from elementary, high school. According to a report to the DepEd, 800 plus yung enrollees na nag-drop out,&quot; she said. Hontiveros noted that the massive dropout of schoolchildren in Socorro followed a strong earthquake that rocked Surigao del Norte in 2019. &quot;Ginamit [ito] na pagkakataon nina Senior Agila na tawagin yung mga kababayan nila na sumunod paakyat sa Kapihan,&quot; the senator claimed. (Senior Agila used this as a chance to encourage their kababayans to go to Kapihan.)&quot;For the record, 30 percent lang ng mga bata ang nag-aaral... pinapayagan para makakuha ng 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program). At isa na po ito sa iniimbestigahan ng DSWD,&quot; she added. (Only 30 percent of children in the community are allowed to go to school so they can claim 4Ps cash aid. The DSWD is investigating that.)National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Caraga director Sally Hans Barbaso, meanwhile, said his office summoned leaders of the group twice in May. None of them appeared and they instead sent a lawyer to speak with investigators, he said. The NBI had wanted to ask the group&#x27;s leaders to allow an inspection of their mountain community and &quot;assure us that we will not be harmed,&quot; Barbaso said. “Based on the statements of our witnesses, they have firearms and are ready to fight,” he said. But Barbaso said that due to the alleged cult leaders&#x27; failure to appear before the NBI-Caraga, it endorsed to the provincial prosecutor the filing of qualified trafficking, serious illegal detention, and child abuse cases against them. Respondents requested for the cases&#x27; transfer to a nearby province due to perceived bias, he said. The Department of Justice eventually designated a panel of women prosecutors to preside over the preliminary investigation. An initial hearing is set on October 9.

The leader of an alleged Surigao del Norte-based cult denied that he sanctioned child marriages and stopped children from attending school. 

'Itong mga bata, nagyayabang lang': Alleged cult leader denies child abuse allegations | ABS-CBN

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'Itong mga bata, nagyayabang lang': Alleged cult leader denies child abuse allegations

'Itong mga bata, nagyayabang lang': Alleged cult leader denies child abuse allegations

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 28, 2023 12:02 PM PHT

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Updated Sep 28, 2023 12:54 PM PHT

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cult

Surigao del Norte

Socorro Bayanihan Services

crime

child abuse

child marriage

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