Church probes slapping of boy by priest over mangoes

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A parish priest is being investigated by peers for the alleged physical abuse of a 13-year-old boy.

Fr. Ricardo Borbajo Jr., of the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish at the village of Bolong, caught the boy up a mango tree beside the chapel harvesting a few pieces of the fruit.

The priest ordered the boy down and allegedly slapped him several times.

Someone took a video of the incident and posted it on social media, alerting church officials and the city’s social welfare and development office.

Bolong village chief Ruben Coros expressed lament at how the priest “hit the boy badly just for a few pieces of mangoes.”

Fr. Marciano Villagracia, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga, said the Church was not condoning wrongdoing of priests.

He said the archdiocese, through the Commission on Clergy, is already investigating the case.

City social welfare officer Maria Socorro Rojas said she had already sent some of her people to also investigate.

Rojas said the boy and his family had been initially advised to get counseling.

But Coros told the Inquirer the priest and the boy’s family had already settled the matter among themselves.

Coros said the boy is a student in the village and belonged to a poor farming family.

Edited by TSB