Social welfare chief, fiscal receive text threats

THE head of the Capitol’s social welfare office is more security conscious after receiving two “unpleasant” text messages last week.

Marivic Garces, who heads the Provincial Social Welfare and Development (PSWD) Office, said she had to get a new mobile number.

Garces disclosed this as Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, who chairs the Provincial Women’s Commission, asked the police to provide security escorts for Cebu Asst. Prosecutor Lolita Lomanta who also received text threats.

“I’m not afraid of it, I’m just bothered… I’m cautious now. I also check on my kids,” Garces said.

She received the first text message during a planning session with department heads in Moalboal town last month.

It simply contained the greeting “hi” from an unidentified number.

“I didn’t answer the message because the sender wasn’t listed in my phone directory,” she said.

This was followed by the message “Maldita gyud diay ka ma’am noh? Dili gyud diay ka madala ug areglo? (You’re strict aren’t you? You can’t be persuaded into agreeing to a settlement).”

The second text message came after her office helped in dealing with an arrested Swedish national accused of child abuse.

It read : “Gahi na gyud mo diha? Barato ra baya ang kinabuhi (You’re hard-headed aren’t you? Life is quite cheap you know).”

She also received several calls from three different numbers.

Garces said she immediately had her number changed last Sunday night, March 4.

“Mysterious callers, motubag ko, di man motingog. Dili ko ganahan magtinir (mobile number) unya ma-bothered ka (There were mysterious callers, I would answer but they don’t respond. I don’t want to change my mobile number but they bothered me),” she said.

As PSWD chief Garces is part of the technical working group of both the Provincial Council for the Welfare of Children (PCWC) and the Provincial Women’s Council (PWC).

She said she believed the text messages have something to do with her work with both PCWC and PWC.

“We take custody of the children. We hide them but (some ctitics) believe that it’s illegal detention of the children. But they’re not being detained,” she said.

Garces said she also take precautions not to make herself vulnerable in public.

“I don’t have any enemies,” she said.

Lomanta, on the other hand, said she is sure the threat messages she got are not related to human trafficiking cases.

She handles other criminal cases as part of her work as prosecutor.

Lomanta, who’s also a member of the technical working group of the PWC, declined to comment on the text threats she received which she deleted.

Magpale met with the council’s technical working group to discuss the writ of habeas corpus filed by the camp of Swedish national Conny Lagstrem.

Lagstrem was arrested by Cebu City police after he was spotted accompanying a nine-year-old girl from Masbate province.

The Swede was arrested on suspicion that he violated Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law.

The law prohibits adults from escorting or keeping company a minor 12 years old and under who isn’t a relative in a private or public place.

The council was directed to show the nine-year-old girl from Masbate in tomorrow’s hearing. With a story from Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol