Christian church admins cleared of child abuse in deaths of 2 Lumad infants

MANILA, Philippines — Citing a lack of evidence, a Davao City court has dismissed child abuse charges against six administrators of a Christian church in Haran, Davao del Norte that took in two Lumad infants who died in their shelter.

In a seven-page decision released Monday, Branch 12 Family Court Presiding Judge Dante Baguio said the prosecution failed to prove that the six administrators of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines had the intent to debase, degrade or demean the intrinsic worth and dignity of the children as human beings.

“Not a single shred of evidence was offered to show that accused were impelled by any ill-motive in facilitating and accommodating the children under their shelter,” the court said.

It added that there was nothing that the prosecution presented which showed that the church administrators had the intent to abuse the two Lumad children, “other than the situation in the shelter that is not conducive for living.”

Even with this finding, the court said that there is no direct link between the shelter being “untidy” and the church administrators being liable for the deaths of the two infants.

The court also said that no proof was presented that the church administrators failed to immediately give medical treatment to the sick children which resulted in their deaths.

In addition, the court said that at the time of their getting sick and eventual death, the infants were accompanied by their parents, who had the authority and duty to make decisions for their children.

“Prosecution failed to show that accused interfered or hindered the parents of the subject children in performing, or much more prohibiting them from doing this responsibility,” the court said.

With these findings, the court junked the charges against Bishop Hamuel Tequis, Rev. Daniel Palicte, Ephraim Malazarte, Jong Monson, Lindy Trenilla and Grace Avila. The court also ordered the return of the bail bonds they posted worth P120,000 each.

Alternative news outlet Bulatlat describes the UCCP Haran complex as a "sanctuary" from the "militarization" of communities of the Lumad — a collective name for Indigenous people in Mindanao distinct from Christian settlers and native Moros there.

The government has tried shutting down the shelter through a resolution passed by Davao's Regional Peace and Order Council in January 2020.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council froze in March 2021 three bank accounts of UCCP Haran and a real property under the name of Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries Inc. after it supposedly found that these are used to finance terrorism.

UCCP Haran has been red-tagged by the government, with state-run Philippine News Agency even saying in a report that the Lumad "are exploited, enticed to join anti-government protest actions, brain-washed to hate the government, and soon to become members of the communist New People’s Army."

Some of the church administrators implicated in this child abuse case have also faced now-dismissed charges before, like Tequis, Trenilla and Monzon, all of which their lawyers described to be "trumped up." — with a report from Kristine Joy Patag