PHILIPPINES
ABS-CBN
Anton C. Onato, VERA Files
Posted at Aug 06 2017
The human trafficking case filed against Taytay-based priest Arnel Lagarejos is one of the rare instances a member of the Roman Catholic clergy has been haled into a criminal court.
But the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is no stranger to complaints of sexual misconduct, including child molestation, against priests.
Retired Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, who is investigating 55-year-old Lagarejos following his arrest on July 28 for bringing a 13-year-old to a motel, has been leading the CBCP’s national tribunal that probes about 60 cases of clergy misconduct every year, including those against priests involved in money scandals, priests siring children, and pedophilic priests.
Last year, the tribunal looked into 14 cases of pedophilia, Cruz said in an interview months before the Lagarejos incident.
“As per experience, there are more cases of pedophilia. More of it,” he said.
The figure, however, is but a fraction of the actual number of cases, he pointed out, adding that bishops are empowered to conduct the investigation at the diocesan level and not all cases end up at the national tribunal.
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