NBI wraps up probe after priest ignores subpoena

The priest who was accused of lascivious acts against the students of the Abellana National High School has failed to refute the allegations, prompting the National Bureau of Investigation to decide to wind up its investigation of the case.

Fr. Benedicto Ejares was deemed to have already waived his right to answer the complaints, said NBI regional director Medardo De Lemos.

De Lemos said that Ejares' failure to appear at the NBI to refute the allegations against him left investigators with no recourse but to wrap up the investigation and make recommendations based on the evidence at hand.

But De Lemos said he cannot say for now whether charges will be filed before the prosecutor's office against the priest because special investigator Jedidah Hife has been evaluating still the affidavits of the victims and yet to submit her recommendations.

At least four of the more than 20 students of the school have filed formal complaints at the NBI against Ejares.

The NBI subpoenaed Ejares to appear for investigation supposedly last Monday and the subpoena was properly received at the Archbishop's Palace. The priest, however, did not show up.

The NBI also subpoenaed earlier each of the 20 students to establish their allegations that Ejares inappropriately touched them while hearing their confession last November.

The students were participants of the Life in the Spirit Seminar organized by the Oasis of Love.

The NBI assumed the investigation of the case from the Department of Social Welfare and Development after the latter gave up for its failure to compel seminar organizers, including the Archdiocese of Cebu, to reveal the identity of the priest.

The DSWD even tried to call for a dialogue between the "victims" and the organizers but church officials allegedly snubbed the agency, prompting it to turn over the investigation to the NBI that has the power to subpoena the parties involved in the case. - Fred P. Languido