Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into alleged child abuse and mismanagement at a shelter in Mexico, Pampanga, where 156 children were reportedly victimized.
In Senate Resolution No. 77, Hontiveros urged the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality to investigate incidents involving Pastor Jeremy Keith Ferguson of the New Life Baptist Church, Inc. Ferguson was accused of inflicting physical injuries, emotional and psychological abuse, and other acts harmful to children’s development.
Two 12-year-old boys and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) filed a complaint alleging that Ferguson forced children to kneel for long periods, fed them spoiled food, and deprived them of playtime.
The DSWD also discovered violations of accreditation standards, fire hazards, and fund mismanagement, leading to a 30-day cease and desist order against the facility.
“There is an urgent need to revisit existing laws and policies to ensure stronger safeguards for children placed in social welfare and development agencies,” Hontiveros said, citing the need to review Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
She added that the reported abuses exposed gaps in oversight mechanisms. “The incident underscores the necessity of a comprehensive review of accreditation, monitoring, and regulation mechanisms for institutions that assume custody of minors, to prevent similar abuses from recurring,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it is preparing deportation proceedings against Ferguson, 48, who was arrested on Aug. 13 by Central Luzon police.
“This kind of depravity has no place in our country,” BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said. “We will make sure this individual is expelled from the Philippines after facing his cases here so he may never prey on our children again. Foreign nationals who think they can come here and harm our people will face the full force of the law and the wrath of our justice system.”
