Socorro cult leader, officials arrested by NBI in Senate
NBI arrested alleged cult Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) leader Jey Rence Quilario or “Senior Agila” on Tuesday.
MANILA, Philippines — “Senior Agila” alleged cult Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI) leader Jey Rence Quilario or “Senior Agila” has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday, November 7.
Quilario and 12 other SBSI officials were arrested and are facing 21 cases for Qualified Trafficking in Persons, Facilitation of Child Marriage, Solemnization of Child Marriage, and Child Abuse.
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Following this action, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) now has custody of the SBSI officials after Senator and Senate Committee on public order and dangerous drugs chair Bato dela Rosa ordered a turnover of their custody after a hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, during the hearing, said Department of Justice is set to request for a change in venue for the preliminary investigation on SBSI from Surigao to Manila.
The NBI made the arrests after warrants of arrest have been issued against the leader and other officials of the alleged SBSI.
The warrants stem from 21 criminal charges filed against SBSI leader Jey Rence Quilario, or “Senior Agila,” and 12 other SBSI officials at the Surigao Del Norte regional trial court.
“This is just the beginning. The 21 charges were only limited to the initial allegations made in Surigao, as well as the additional allegations brought upon by the previous hearing,” said Ty.
Ty made the statement during a hearing of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs on SBSI.
“So, clearly, there are other incidents we could look into – the children who died in childbirth, as well as the abuse of the senior citizen who testified earlier,” he said.
“Our task force will look into those as well,” he added.
As a reaction to Ty’s statements, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa ordered the Senate Sergeant at Arms to coordinate with the Philippine National Police and NBI in the turnover of the respondents’ custody.
Quilario and other SBSI officials Mamerto Galanida, Janeth Ajoc, and Karren Sanico were previously held in contempt by the Senate for evading questions during a joint Senate panel investigation on September 28.
The contempt order, however, was lifted after Dela Rosa acknowledged receipt of the warrants of arrest from the court.
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