Tuesday, October 31, 2006 Consolacion’s Fr. Feguis ‘didn’t mean to hurt’ boy By Mia E. Abellana Sun.Star Staff Reporter
ANOTHER altar boy has accused a priest of violent behavior.
Rev. Fr. Silvino Feguis Jr., parish priest of the San Narciso Parish in Conso-lacion, Cebu, allegedly choked Christopher Arsenal Canonigo, 18, gripping so hard that he bruised him.
The incident reportedly happened at 6 p.m. last Saturday, just before a procession was held in honor of their patron saint, whose feast day the northern town was celebrating.
Canonigo, in his report to the Consolacion Police Station, said the priest asked him to fetch an electric fan.
Since the church choir was using it for their practice, Canonigo said he could not bring it to Feguis.
“Nidiretso nalang dayon siya og tuok nako. Pwerte nakong hadloka kay siga kaayo iyang mata (He suddenly choked me. He was glaring at me, I was so scared),” Canonigo told a Sun.Star Cebu news team yesterday.
Feguis denied he intentionally hurt Canonigo, saying he was “not a violent person.”
In an interview, Feguis said he wanted to meet with Canonigo to ask how he hurt him so he could apologize.
“If I did hurt him, I want him to demonstrate to me how. Kon mokiha siya, unsa man akong mahimo (If he’ll file charges, what can I do)?” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
He admitted he was angry at the time because Canonigo did not tell him right away that the electric fan was being used and a man who would have repaired it was waiting.
He denied choking Canonigo.
He said all he did was put his hands around Canonigo’s face so the boy would look him in the eye.
Feguis believes this may have been how Canonigo interpreted his actions because he is originally from Salvador, Lanao del Norte and may have seen violent actions.
Maltreated
“War zone man gud tingali na didto. Usa pa, maltreated na siya sa iyang sister mao nang nidangop na diri (I think where he came from was a war zone. Also, he’s been maltreated by his sister, that’s why he came to us),” he explained.
Canonigo said he will file a case because he learned he was not the only one who got the same treatment from the priest.
He said he knew of at least four other altar boys who were treated the same way and left the convent. This Feguis also denied.
“Pirmi man ko niya makasab-an. Sakit kaayo siya manulti. Pero karon pa ko niya gituok (He always scolded me. But it was the first time he choked me),” he said.
Results of the medical exam at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City have yet to be released.
He showed Sun.Star Cebu scars on his neck, which he allegedly got from Feguis’ fingernails.
He said the cuts stung after the priest choked him.
Senior Insp. Resty Santos, Consolacion Police Chief, said that if the medical certificate says the patient needs nine days or less under observation, the case will be referred to the barangay for settlement of simple physical injuries.
Surprised
But they will leave it to Canonigo to decide if he wanted to file charges.
Parishioners were surprised when they learned of the incident.
“Buotan man na siya (He’s a good man),” most of them said of their priest.
Teresita Pitogo, president of the Parish Pastoral Council of the San Narciso Parish, said this was the first time she heard of complaints against the priest.
“Wa ko katuo. Maayo man na siya. We work comfortably with him (I couldn’t believe it),” she said in a dyLA interview.
She declined to comment further because she wanted to hear the side of both parties.
Feguis said he was willing to face any investigation and agreed to a confrontation with Canonigo at the barangay hall or police station.
He said he has not heard from Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and will just wait if he is called to explain.
Asked if he could forgive Feguis, Canonigo said it was difficult to answer the question.
He said he got scared and did not know what to do, which is why after reporting the incident to the police, he went straight to a television network nearby.
He denied his sister maltreated him, saying she was merely strict and they often quarreled, which is why he opted to stay in the convent.
He admitted the priest sent him to school and that he finished his first semester, but his tuition and other school fees were allegedly not yet paid.
Feguis has been a priest for 26 years. He has spent more than three years in Consolacion. He said this was the first time someone lodged a complaint against him.
