Judge tells cultists: Your kids are not your property

Warns them against neglecting education of their children

The Manila Bulletin/January 27, 2003
By Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.

Cebu City -- "Do not neglect your children. Your children are not your personal property. If your beliefs interfere with their rights to live normal lives, the government will certainly intervene."

These remarks were addressed by a family court judge to parents of 14 children who are members of the Salva Me cult. The judge has ordered the Region 7 office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to return the 14 children of Salva Me cult to their parents in what was considered a stinging setback in the city government's bid to have the minors placed under its protective custody.

The city had earlier "rescued" the children from the cult's mountain hideout in barangay Buhisan, hoping to free them from potential harm from continuous exposure to cult practices and provide them opportunities to lead a normal life. But family court Judge Pampio Abarintos decided the children be allowed to continue living with their parents on condition they undergo medical examinations and enroll in school.

After ordering the children released back to their parents, Abarintos then directed the DSWD to continue monitoring the condition of the children once they return to the cult's hideout. He also warned the parents that the court itself will make periodic surprise visits to check on the children. "We want the parents to be educated and to know their responsibilities as parents.

The court cannot tolerate seeing that the children do not know how to read and write," Abarintos said. Last Jan. 20, representatives of various agencies "rescued" the children, bothered by reports that they were prevented from going to school by cult leader Alfredo Verano, who used as example Jesus Christ who never went to school, and instead made the kids work by digging tunnels which cult members use as dwelling places.

The children were found to live in squalid conditions and, as doctors were to confirm later, suffered from malnutrition. Following the rescue, the city government, through the DSWD and the Cebu City Commission for the Welfare and Protection of Children, sought court action to gain legal custody of the children. But during the court hearing, cult member Geraldine Barbajo told Abarintos that the allegations are not true.

Rex Fernandez, lawyer for the cult, argued that while the children have not experienced formal education, his clients have been teaching them about values and their parents have been teaching them how to read and write. Abarintos tested Fernandez by asking an eight-year-old girl, a cult member, to approach the bench and tell him if she knows how to read and write. The girl just shyly shook her head.

Abarintos told Fernandez that the education that should be given to the children is the kind that is recognized by the government and would allow them to become professionals in the future.