DSWD offers aid to girl who wrote to Marcos for help

MANILA, Philippines — Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said on Wednesday that authorities have already located the 11-year-old girl from Tinambac, Camarines Sur, who asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for protection against the alleged abuses committed by a barangay councilor and his sons.

“In accordance with the directive of the President, we will assist the child and others in the shelter through psycho-emotional counseling provided by our social workers,” Gatchalian said in a post on his official Facebook account.

READ: 11-year-old asks Marcos: How can we read if we are being raped?

“Our social workers will also assist the child’s friend, who was a victim of violence, in filing a case,” he added.

In a separate interview with journalists in Quezon City, Gatchalian said he met with the young girl and the head of Redeemer Homeless Mission, the nonprofit shelter that is taking care of her and 28 other homeless children in Tinambac, Camarines Sur. The meeting took place on Tuesday at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office in Quezon City.

“When the President discovered the letter to him, he immediately ordered me to find the little girl. It just so happened that the shelter facility itself had a pending transaction with the DSWD to help them get their permits in order,” he said.

“So she was being located, but at the same time, they were really coming here because of that issue, which required us to sit down with them to help them continue operating the shelter,” Gatchalian added.

Financial assistance

According to him, financial aid will be extended to the families of the girls to help improve their livelihood. All other necessary assistance will likewise be provided to the shelter.

In an open letter posted by Redeemer Homeless Mission on its Facebook page on Monday, the 11-year-old student asked Marcos for help against the harassment and abuses allegedly being perpetrated by the barangay councilor and his sons in Tinambac.

The young girl had earlier walked out of a graduation ceremony at Caloco Elementary School to submit a petition to the vice mayor of Tinambac for the removal of the barangay official who, according to her, was harassing residents through threats and by cutting off their electricity and water supply.

According to her, one of the girls at the shelter was raped and impregnated by a son of the barangay official. The victim was reportedly forced to have an abortion. The 11-year-old claimed that another girl in the municipality was also raped by another son of the same barangay official.

In her open letter, she asked: “Mr. President, how will we read if we are being raped? How will we read if our own government people cut our electrical wire so we have no lights? How will we read if our ‘kagawad’ cut our balon [well] wires and so we have no water?”

“We are kids, we are not involved in your political parties. I just want to go to school without being raped. So can you please help us?” she said.

President responds

The day after, President Marcos responded in the post’s comments section, saying he would send police officers to investigate the alleged abuses.

“Your letter has reached me and brought me close to tears and made me very angry,” Marcos said. “I will make sure that you will be able to continue reading and studying as much as you want,” he added.

In a statement, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said that he ordered a specialized team from the PNP Women and Children Protection Center to handle the case.

“Investigators are now gathering evidence to determine appropriate criminal charges against the accused [councilor], Nartatez said. “We will not let this pass, and we are now coordinating with the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) in the conduct of a thorough investigation.”

According to the PNP chief, one of the rape suspects, whom he did not name, is currently detained at the Tinangis Penal Farm in Pili, Camarines Sur, while the case is being tried in court. —With a report from Jason Sigales