Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution directing a Senate committee to conduct a probe in aid of legislation into the alleged sexual abuse, forced into marriage, and other violent acts of a cult group to minor children in the Municipality of Socorro in Surigao Del Norte.
She filed Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 797 on September 18, the same day she revealed the horrifying acts done by the cult group identified as Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) during the Senate plenary session.
Under SRN 797, Hontiveros urged the Senate Committee on Women, children, family relations, and gender equality, which she currently chairs, to probe the alarming reports of alleged rape, sexual abuse, forced labor, and forced marriage.
She said team's research showed that the brutal acts occurred in a mountain which is known to many as Sitio Kapihan.
"A Senate investigation is needed to immediately address these urgent and alarming issues, rescue the children, affect the reintegration into society of the victims, and identify policy gaps in legislation that allow these cults to operate in plain view of the local government unit and other institutions," the Senator pointed out.
According to Hontiveros, first-hand testimonies revealed that the cult's leader Jey Rence Quilario or Senior Aguil facilitated child marriages and sexual intercourse between minors and adult men.
Alongside, the Senator said the adult SBSI members were forced to work and surrender about 40 to 60 percent of the money they received from government programs like Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) and Assistance to Individuals In Crisis Situations (AICS).
Hontiveros earlier appealed to her fellow lawmakers in the Senate to immediately act on the case.
