Magpale says four girls rescued from Canadian to stay in shelter

THE four girls rescued from the motel room of a Canadian tourist in Bogo City last week will stay in an undisclosed shelter under the custody of the Provincial Council for the Welfare of Children (PCWC).

The girls were brought yesterday to Cebu City.

The transfer is needed to safeguard the minors and keep their relatives from influencing their testimonies, said Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, co-chairperson of the council.

Instead of returning the girls to their relatives,  Magpale said the PCWC, headed by Gov. Hilario Davide III,  will look for a facility to provide them shelter.

“If they  remain there (in Bogo), under the influence of the relatives, the case might be affected,” she told reporters yesterday.

Four girls, ages nine to 11, were found in the company of 73-year old Canadian retiree Levi Caouette Talbot in the Gabrielle’s Court motel.

Two of the girls are sisters from Bogo City.  Their mother and grandmother were taken into police custody after it was found out that they knew of the whereabouts of the children and had consented to their stay.

The other two girls are sisters from Consolacion town.

Magpale said the province  has been working with NGOs and private groups that have child care facilities that accommodate  minors referred to them.

Magpale met with Governor Davide yesterday to give him updates of the case.

The arrested Canadian and two women were charged by Bogo police with human trafficking and violation of a special law for the protection of children against exploitation.

Magpale said the girls have already executed their affidavits. She said she found  all of them to be “really smart” children.

She said  the PCWC will make sure that the girls will be able to continue their schooling.

“The best interest of the child is first and foremost,” she said.

Magpale said the PCWC will participate in the prosecution of the case. She said their help was sought by Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane.

Meanwhile, Governor Davide said he was open to the idea of fielded paralegals to the Cebu provincial jail to cases of the overstaying inmates.

He said he pities the inmates who have no one following up their cases but said the courts can’t be blamed because they have too many cases to handle.

He appealed to the judiciary to help field free legal aid lawyers.

The provincial jail population of 2,300 exceeds its capacity of 1,600 inmates.

Marco Toral, provincial jail consultant, who raised the need for paralegal volunteers said they need at least three.

On Tuesday, five senior year  law students of the University of San Carlos volunteered to look at the pending cases of  overstaying inmates. Last week,  47-year-old Australian inmate Hilton Munro hanged himself in his cell  apparently out of despair that he would not be set free.     He was frustrated that  his  trial hearings on a  2013 charge of child abuse and trafficking were often postponed .  His co-accused driver said Munro had lost hope that he would get out of jail and that his funds were running out.