NBI threatens to seek warrant vs. Fr. Ejares

The National Bureau of Investigation said it will give Fr. Benedicto Ejares ten days, starting yesterday, to submit his counter-affidavit to the accusations against him or else it will apply for a warrant for his arrest.

City prosecutor Alexander Acosta, who is handling Ejares’ case, said the presence of the priest is necessary when he files his counter-affidavit.

Ejares is facing seven counts of acts of lasciviousness and sexual harassment after at least seven students of the Abellana National High School accused him of sexually harassing them during a Life in the Spirit Seminar in November last year.

The Archdiocese of Cebu has been asked to present Ejares to the public so he can answer the charges, but its media liaison officer, Msgr. Achilles Dakay, claimed they have no information about the whereabouts of the priest.

Ejares is now on the Bureau of Immigration’s watch list in case he tries to leave the country. – Jona B. Bering, CNU intern/BRP