Priest in child abuse charge faces 12 years in jail, by Manolo B. Jara, Gulf Today (August 6, 2017)

MANILA: Police on Saturday said the Filipino priest arrested and indicted for allegedly “booking” the sexual services of a 13-year-old girl could face up to 12 years in jail if convicted by a regional court.

Police explained the stiff jail term was the maximum penalty that a court could impose for those accused and found guilty of violating the country’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

At the same time, Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, the head of the Metro Manila Eastern Police District, appealed to other victims to surface and file charges against Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos, 55, who was arrested in suburban Marikina City on July 28 along with a minor aboard a late model sport utility vehicle he was driving on their way to a motel.

Sapitula said his office has received reports that Lagarejos allegedly victimised other minors in Marikina and Rizal province in Southern Luzon but they were afraid to file complaints because the priest allegedly threatened them with a gun.

“I’m calling on the other victims of the priest to surface so additional charges could be filed against him,” Sapitula assured police would provide security for them and their families.

The same testimony was made by the minor in the company of Lagarejos as she revealed that in the past two instances that she had met the priest, he also threatened her with a gun.

Sapitula revealed that they already provided protection to the girl’s family who said they had received death threats and phone calls from suspicious persons following the arrest of Lagarejos.

Police said the Lagarejos scandal was probably the first child abuse case reported to them that involved a priest in this predominantly Catholic nation of 100 million Filipinos.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) earlier anniounced that Lagarejos had been relieved as the parish priest of Tatyay in Rizal as well as the president of a Catholic college based in the neighboring town of Cainta.

Based on his biodata released through social media, Lagarejos also said he obtained a doctorate degree in Moral Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University run by the Vatican in Rome.

The CBCP announced it also created a team headed by Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, its former president, to investigate Lagarejos and make the necessary recommendations including his possible expulsion from priesthood.