Dela Rosa said the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking will have custody of children who escaped from SBSI for now.
MANILA — Children who are alleged to have been victims of Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc., an organization in Surigao del Norte that is under investigation for reports of forced marriage involving minors and other alleged abuses, will remain in government custody, Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa said Sunday.
At a Senate hearing this week, former Socorro mayor Mamerto Galanida appealed to senators dela Rosa and Risa Hontiveros to allow two child witnesses in the group's defense.The move was aimed at countering the allegations hurled against SBSI by at least three minors who said they had been forced to marry at age 12, trained as a child soldier and made to perform hard labor.
Group leaders have maintained their innocence of allegations of child abuse, underage marriage and extortion.
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