Bato asks NBI to investigate baby cemetery in Sitio Kapihan

Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the tombs of infants in Sitio Kapihan—the community in Socorro, Surigao del Sur of members of the Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc.

At a news conference, Dela Rosa said the cemetery appeared to have been "haphazardly prepared."

“Titingnan din natin yung mga posibleng circumstances behind the deaths of these children. I have given advice to NBI na imbestigahan nila ito kung ano ang nangyari. Bakit puro bata nandun sa libingan?” Dela Rosa said.

“Nakita ko kasi parang haphazardly pineprare ‘yung sementeryo na ‘yon dahil nga parating ang inspection. Nilagyan lang ng kahoy na nilagyan ng pangalan, uniform ang pagkagawa. Parang nagmamadali sila sa paghanda for the inspection,” he said.

(We will look into the circumstances behind the deaths of these children. I have given advice to the NBI to get to the bottom of this. Why were those buried all children? I noticed that the tombs were haphazardly prepared. They just put wooden crosses and wrote names on them. It's like they did things in a rush preparing for our inspection.)

Upon the request of a father, who said his child was buried in the area Dela Rosa inspected, the NBI exhumed the remains for investigation.

Dela Rosa said he saw no evidence indicating SBSI's involvement in an alleged private armed group. Neither did he see proof of a shabu laboratory in Sitio Kapihan.

“So far, wala, wala tayong nakita about private army. Kung meron man, sigurado ako alam na nila ‘yung arrival natin. Kung meron man, nilinis na nila yon. Noon pa nu’ng mag-start ang ating Senate hearing,” Dela Rosa said in a virtual interview with Senate reporters.

(So far, we did not see anything about the supposed private army. If there was any, I'm sure they would have already erased traces of that private army. As early as when the Senate hearing started.)

“It turned out to be negative ‘yung allegation about the shabu laboratory… Hindi ko rin masabi kung naitago nila [ang ebidensya] at di ko rin masabi, categorically, na talagang wala as in zero,” Dela Rosa said.

(I cannot say that they were able to hide the pieces of evidence but I cannot also categorically state that there was none.)

“Dahil nga pagdating ko doon nakita ko wala talaga at prior to my arrival, nauna na don ang PNP, nag-conduct na rin sila ng sariling investigation at wala rin silang nakitang indicator na may shabu laboratory,” he added.

(Prior to my arrival, the PNP also conducted their own investigation and they have not seen any indicator of a shabu laboratory.)

Dela Rosa said he is convinced that SBSI was a cult.

“Talagang lumalabas na kulto ito. By all definitions, by all elements of a cult nandun, makikita mo sa SBSI. ‘Yung strict reverence to a single personality, ‘yan yung kulto. Yung paghi-heal niya kuno kuno. Pagiging quack doctor, naniwala mga tao. Elemento yan ng cultism e,” Dela Rosa said.

(All definitions and all elements indicate that this group is a cult. There is strict reverence to a single personality and the leader became a quack doctor. These are all elements of cultism.)

“Sino bang matinong tao ang iinom ng tae ng kambing para gumaling siya? May blind obedience, may blind faith towards a cult leader,” he added.

For Dela Rosa, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is “the key” for the SBSI cult to “die down in its natural death.”

“DENR talaga pinakasusi dito. Pag sinabi ng DENR i-revoke, sigurado i-relocate sila,” he said.

(DENR is the key in dismantling this group. Once they say, they will revoke the agreement, all the SBSI members will relocate.)

Dela Rosa said they also intend to investigate another group in Surigao del Norte that is similar to SBSI.

"May sinasabi dun na ganon din pero so far wala pang lumalabas na reklamo sa karapatan ng mga menor de edad… pero basically parang the same," he added.

"Sabi pa nga nila mas malala pa raw doon kasi aside from bawal pumasok ang outsider, naka-wall talaga yung palibot, sementado daw ‘yung pensa. May sarili daw gobyerno doon, may sariling currency. Sariling papel na pera na ginagamit. So mukhang kailangan imbestigahan natin ‘yun,” he added.

(They were saying that there is another group similar to SBSI but there were no complaints raised yet against the group. But they said that this new group is much worse because their place is walled and they have their own government and currency. So it appears that we need to investigate it also.)

Currently, SBSI leader and alleged cult leader Jey Rence Quilario a.k.a Senior Agila and three others are detained at the Senate.

A Senate panel earlier cited them in contempt after Quilario and the others repeatedly denied that child marriages took place in the Surigao del Norte-based group despite testimonies by the alleged victims.

They will be released if they will stop lying before the committee, Dela Rosa said.

The issue first came to light after Senator Risa Hontiveros in September said that more than 1,000 minors were being sexually abused by a religious “cult” in Socorro town. —NB, GMA Integrated News