PHILIPPINES
Philippine Daily Inquirer
By: Germelina Lacorte
DAVAO CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte late Thursday named the priest, who allegedly molested him and several other high school boys, when he was a teenager studying at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) here.
Duterte, who vowed to keep his mouth shut pending a talk with Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles on Friday, said the priest who made him and several other boys lost their innocence was the late Fr. Paul Falvey, S.J., one of the Jesuit priests at AdDU when he was still in his first year high school.
“It happened during our generation, two years ahead of us and two years following us,” Duterte told reporters Thursday night. “It cost him some P25 million because other victims filed a case, it was a case of fondling—you know what—he did during confession, that’s how we lost our innocence early,” the mayor told reporters here around 9 p.m. Thursday.
He said he did not file a case because he was still a young boy at that time, and he was afraid. “It was a sort of sexual awakening for each of us,” he said, “We realized quite early that ganun talaga ang buhay (life was like that), “Paano magreklamo (How would you complain)?” he asked, “Takot kami (We were afraid).”
Duterte said that’s why he has high regard for Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who voiced out his strong criticism against him. “That’s why, I respect Bishop Oscar Cruz, who is very frank and very brutal in his language, I respect him, kasi hindi siya (because it was not him),” Duterte said, adding that it “was an actionable wrong.” “I was only 14 or 15, I am now 70 years old. How do you suppose I should file a case?” he asked reporters.
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