Boys Town exec, volunteers face raps over molestation, abuses

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza has ordered the immediate dismissal from service and the filing of criminal cases against a former official and five volunteers of the Boys Town Complex (BTC) who abused some of the facility’s wards recently.

Atienza issued the directive upon the recommendation of a special investigating committee that was tasked to looked into alleged sexual molestation and physical abuses performed against BTC’s former officer-in-charge (OIC) and five street educators.

The three-man investigating committee formed by the mayor found guilty of sexual molestation former BTC OIC Daniel Cabangangan and physical abuses five street educators, namely: Jolly Divinagracia, Christian Guerra, John Soliven, Paul Navarro and Eric Sepe.

An investigative body had been created in response to a Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) report that disclosed the abuses that took place within the walls of the 59-year-old BTC from October 2004 to March this year.

Several wards told the committee of the alleged harassment and molestation committed by Cabangangan.

The volunteers, on the other hand, allegedly manhandled four wards for violating the curfew.

The investigating committee was composed of city administrator Dino Nable as chairman, city legal officer Melchor Monsod and Manila health officer Dr. Marie Lorraine Sanchez.

In the decision on the administrative case against Cabangangan and the five BTC volunteers, it was clearly stressed that "the wards in BTC are minors. Much patience and extraordinary care must be exercised in dealing with them."

It added that "wards in BTC are being cared for with utmost diligence and fragility because of their tenderness and youthfulness, taking into consideration the circumstances why they are housed at the complex. Any use of force or physical violence on their persons must be dealt with immediately and willfully."

Apart from penalizing the perpetrators of the said abuses, Atienza has also directed the issuance of a formal charge for malversation and misuse of BTC facilities against Cabangangan and other OICs (co-signatories) of each home of BTC, namely: Jean Joaquin, Emelda Lopez, Juanita Adame, Pacita Riomalos, Osita Mariano, and Leonila Borja.