Aid urged for Senior Agila’s ‘victims’ after DENR revokes land deal
Published April 9, 2024 2:11pm Senator Risa Hontiveros is calling on the government to look after the welfare of the “victims” of the supposed cult in Socorro, Surigao del Norte after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) revoked its agreement with Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) in managing a part of a protected […]
Tomas Kauer - News Moderator 
Senator Risa Hontiveros is calling on the government to look after the welfare of the “victims” of the supposed cult in Socorro, Surigao del Norte after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) revoked its agreement with Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) in managing a part of a protected area in the town.
“Dapat magtulong-tulong ang ating mga ahensiya, kasama ang lokal na pamahalaan ng Socorro at Surigao del Norte, para mapangalagaan ang kapakanan ng mga mamamayan ng Kapihan,” Hontiveros said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Mga biktima din sila ng kahirapan na napilitang kumapit sa mga pangako’t panloloko ni Senior Agila,” she pointed out.
(Government agencies, together with the local governments of Socorro and Surigao del Norte, should work together to protect the welfare of the residents of Kapihan. They’re victims of poverty who was fooled by Senior Agila’s false promises.)
Hontiveros was referring to SBSI president Jey Rence Quilario alias Senior Agila, who was allegedly involved in rape, sexual abuse, forced labor, and forced marriage of minors within SBSI.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has already filed qualified trafficking in persons, facilitation of child marriage, solemnization of child marriage, and child abuse charges against Quilario and several other individuals.
Hontiveros, who sought the Senate investigation into the alleged abuses within the Socorro group, reiterated that the state must “ensure that every member of [Sitio] Kapihan can live a life with dignity.”
She likewise called on the members of the SBSI to cooperate with the authorities in light of the recent developments.
“We only wish for them to live in safety, freedom, and genuine peace,” Hontiveros said.
The SBSI — an organization with 3,560 members including 1,587 children — is based in an enclosed and heavily guarded area in a mountain of Sitio Kapihan in Socorro town. Its officials have repeatedly denied the allegations raised against the organization. —Hana Bordey/KBK, GMA Integrated News
