THE Department of Justice yesterday said they are looking at information that the “cult” operating in the municipality of Socorro in Surigao del Norte is also allegedly operating a clandestine shabu laboratory and is training its members to become a private army.
DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano said this is an alarming development but added the information on the alleged operation of a shabu laboratory by the Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc. (SBSI) came from “unofficial sources.”
“We have not received any information on the shabu laboratory but certain people have already given us, through unofficial channels, that information,” Clavano told reporters in a press briefing yesterday.
He said he has received information that kids are being trained by the cult to become members of a private army, adding “that’s alarming because not only is it a sex cult, it’s also going to be used possibly as a way to commit violent crimes, even terrorism. It is a big red flag for us and this is precisely why we have to stop this so that we will maintain peace and order in Surigao del Norte.”
Clavano said DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has directed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to dig deeper into the activities of the cult.
“Sec. Remulla has instructed the NBI to dig deeper into their investigation, especially since we have information from Sen. Risa Hontiveros. We will look into these allegations, information and facts so that we will be able to have a whole picture of this case, and hopefully, serve as a lesson so that we can prevent similar incidents in the future,” he said.
Hontiveros, in a privileged speech last Monday, alleged the cult has victimized more than 1,000 children since 2019.
Hontiveros identified the leader of the cult as Jey Rence Quilario, alias Senior Agila.
Clavano said an independent panel of prosecutors will probe the cases involving the cult.
He said the preliminary investigation of the cases against the respondents led by Quilaro has encountered obstacles due to multiple motions for the inhibition of local prosecutors.
“There is one motion to inhibit that was granted. There are a few motions to inhibit that we found but we don’t know exactly what happened. But whether or not they will be granted, we will start to move for the cases to be lodged here in the DOJ main office,” Clavano said.
“Because it has reached a level of national importance and it is a problem that is deeply rooted in that province, it’s better to have an independent panel of prosecutors to look at the cases so they can objectively assess the cases and all the allegations in the complaint,” he added.
The NBI-Caraga Regional Office in Butuan City has recommended charging Quilario and several other SBSI officers and members with qualified trafficking under Republic Act No. 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003), violation of RA 7610 (Anti-Child Abuse Law), kidnapping, and serious illegal detention.
This recommendation was forwarded to the Surigao del Norte Prosecutor’s Office last June.
Clavano said a task force composed of DOJ and Social Welfare Department personnel is also being formed to assist the minor victims of the cult, especially when they are asked to testify in court against their abuses who he added, in some cases, involved their parents.
“We don’t want the children to relive the trauma over and over so we are forming a task force, a technical working group composed of DOJ and DSWD to ensure that they have a conducive environment where they can testify and provide evidence. So that they will only make one testimony that can be used in the preliminary investigation, in the court trial so that they only have to relive their trauma once,” he added.
