CHILD PROTECTORS. Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Luzon officials file child abuses cases versus Jeremy Keith Ferguson, executive director of New Life Baptist Church of Mexico, Pampanga, Inc., in this undated photo. The inquest prosecutor said there are enough evidence to go ahead with the case. (DSWD photo)
MANILA – Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution on Monday calling for an inquiry into alleged child abuse and mismanagement at a shelter in Mexico, Pampanga, 156 children reportedly suffered.
In Senate Resolution No. 77, Hontiveros asked the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality to investigate the incidents involving Pastor Jeremy Keith Ferguson, who was accused of inflicting physical injury, emotional and psychological abuse, and other acts prejudicial to children's development.
A complaint filed by two 12-year-old boys and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) alleged that Ferguson forced children to kneel for long periods, fed them spoiled food, and deprived them of playtime.
The DSWD also found violations of registration and accreditation standards, fire hazards and mismanagement of funds, prompting the issuance of a 30-day cease and desist order against the facility run by the New Life Baptist Church, Inc.
Hontiveros stressed the urgency of reviewing laws such as Republic Act 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act) to ensure stronger safeguards for minors in social welfare and development facilities.
"There is an urgent need to revisit existing laws and policies to ensure stronger safeguards for children placed in social welfare and development agencies," she said.
She added that the reported abuses exposed the 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," Hontiveros said.
On Sunday, the Bureau of Immigration said it is preparing deportation proceedings against the 48-year-old Ferguson, who was arrested on Aug. 13 by the Central Luzon police and agents of the Pampanga Police Provincial Office's Women and Children's Protection Desk.
"This kind of depravity has no place in our country," BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said in a statement. "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." (PNA)
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