EDITORIAL — How many more?

With each hearing being conducted by the Senate into the activities of the Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc. (SBSI) in Sitio Kapihan, Barangay Sering, in Socorro town, Surigao del Norte, the picture seems to get uglier.

Now we are finding out that the group was able to occupy what was considered to be a protected area and own it like it was personal property. Now we are finding out that they deliberately ordered children to quit school and do manual labor. Now are finding out that the members of the doomsday cult considered it to be a form of government with a central figure as their prophet and undisputed leader.

And if other allegations are true, not only was the group maintaining what can be considered a private army, they are also alleged to have forced minors to marry, and the group’s members to leave spouses so they can be forcibly married to other members in the group.

Now comes the first question: Would any of these things have come to pass had the local government unit paid more heed to the increasingly alarming activities of the cult? Would none of these things have happened if some government agencies had not been remiss in their duties? For us, the answer would have to be yes.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources should not have let them stay in the protected area for as long as they did. The police should have been tipped off by the paramilitary training being given to members. DepEd should have acted on the children being forced to quit school. Social workers should also have been aware of what the minors were allegedly being forced to do.

And last but certainly not the least, the LGU should have been more aware of everything the group was doing and put a stop to it.

Freedom of religion is something that everyone is entitled to in this country; even for movements that many of us don’t necessarily agree with. These uncertain days some people are willing to turn to any movement and their self-appointed prophets and messiahs to give them assurance, whether in this world or the next.

However, that religious freedom must not infringe on the personal freedoms and human rights of others, let alone undermine the authority of the duly-elected government.

Now comes the second question: How many more cults or other such groups are operating in the Philippines under the noses of LGUs and government agencies?