(PHILIPPINES)
ABS-CBN [Quezon City, Philippines]
August 19, 2025
By Jervis Manahan
MANILA — Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian says the entire Baptist Church should not be blamed for abuses done in a child care facility in Mexico, Pampanga.
“Ano man ang maging finding ng korte, gusto ko sana tandaan ng tao na ito ay kagagawan ng isang indibidwal o ng dalawang indibidwal,” he said.
(Whatever the court may find is just the act of only one or two individuals.)
“Hindi natin dapat ibaling ito sa buong simbahan, kasi marami ako naririnig na nadadamay na ang Baptist. Hindi po ito buong simbahan ng Baptist,” Gatchalian added.
(We should not blame the entire church as I’ve been hearing a lot of things said about the Baptist church. The Baptist church should not be liable.)
The DSWD rescued 160 children from New Life Baptist Church in Mexico, Pampanga last week over supposed abuses committed inside its facilities.
DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said their investigators discovered heavy chains, padlocks, and barbed wire within the residential care facility.
Most of the children have been transferred to age-appropriate centers where they continue to receive psychosocial interventions and care from social workers.
The pastor behind the facility has been charged with physical abuse and verbal abuse cases, and is now under the custody of Pampanga PNP.
The DSWD has also coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration to prevent him from leaving the country.
“This is a cruel act of a person, not of the church,” Gatchalian added.
The facility may be blacklisted from the DSWD’s registry of Social Welfare and Development Agencies, on top of the revocation of its registration and license to operate, according to Dumlao.