Saturday, April 29, 2006
8 pedophilia victims awarded P800T by US court
By Karlon N. Rama
CEBU CITY -- A US trial court has awarded $16,000 or about P816,000 to eight Barangay Kamagayan, Cebu City boys abused by a Filipino-American man sometime last year.
But the award, to be released to an international foundation for the purpose of providing an educational, psychological and medical intervention program for the boys, is in danger of getting cancelled.
This is because the parents want the money given directly to them and not to the World Vision Development Foundation, the US court-designated administrator.
"We do not trust NGOs (non-government organizations). There are a lot of them in our barangay and they make a lot of promises," one parent, speaking in Cebuano, said.
Taking a hardline stance, the parents said they'd rather that the program be cancelled if they aren't given the cash.
They represented the eight children, all aged below 18, who 61-year-old Edilberto Datan, a retired government auditor from San Diego, California, but a native of Cebu City, allegedly molested.
The parents, officials of World Vision here in Cebu City, representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, (DSWD) an official from the US Department of Homeland Security and a legal attaché from the US Justice Department held a meeting at Regional Trial Court Judge Olegario Sarmiento Jr.'s chambers Friday afternoon.
The US government officials attended the meeting, held in Sarmiento's family court for its symbolic relevance, thinking it was just a simple matter of announcing the award.
Jeff Cole, the legal attaché, did not expect problems.
Datan was convicted by a federal grand jury and sentenced by the court to serve a 17-year prison term.
Last March 1, 2005, he pleaded guilty to the charge of traveling outside the US with the intent to commit a crime.
Datan was arrested on Nov. 4, 2004 as he returned from the Philippines, after inspectors at the Los Angeles International Airport discovered hundreds of digital pictures of naked young boys.
A subsequent raid on his house in Normal Heights, a San Diego suburb, revealed more.
Investigators found documents showing how Datan had used his credit cards to buy child pornography from a Belarus-based ring.
The US Department of Homeland Security, said former Cebu City prosecutor Cezar Tajanlangit, also sent its investigators to Cebu City for a fact-finding mission that resulted in evidence being obtained.
(Tajanlangit is now with the US Department of Homeland Security.)
Based on court documents, Datan initially denied the allegations and said the boys in the digital photos were part of a dance troupe he knew through friends.
He said the boys from the troupe came to his hostel after performances to visit and shower. He denied touching them inappropriately.
The federal court did more than convict Datan, records revealed.
The court also seized part of his assets and earmarked these as his "compensatory award" for the victims.
Cole, during the meeting, explained that the award was not intended for release to the beneficiaries, adding that American courts do not do that.
"If you had been the complainants in this case, then you could have petitioned for damages. But you aren't and this isn't (payment of) damages. The court simply felt that the victims needed help because of what happened and resolved to provide this award from the seized assets," he said.
The parents said they understand but maintained that they do not want NGOs to administer the award or carry out the program.
They criticized the program World Vision prepared, saying it only has a validity of two years.
And despite the assurance that the two-year period referred to review and revision, they believe World Vision will realign the money for another project or another set of beneficiaries.
Tempers rose at certain points during the meeting where former Kamagayan Barangay captain Mansueto Avila acted as spokesperson for the families.
"You cannot have the money. The court does not allow you to get the money," Cole said repeatedly.
"The court says the money is to be given to the foundation and that it is the foundation that will draft and, with the concurrence of the court, implement the program unto your children," he said.
Cole also assured the parents that other agencies will ensure that the implementing NGO will be checked.
He revealed that the court even denied outright World Vision's first draft of the program because it believed that more money will go to the NGO than to the children if it were carried out.
He also said the money cannot be realigned to any other project or purpose because the court's order was "firm on that."
The parents asked that they meet among themselves first and come up with a consensus, to which Cole agreed with a reminder: "This isn't a bargaining session. Taking a hardline stance against a court order won't take you anywhere."
They will meet with the representatives from the DSWD, World Vision and Tajanlangit.(Sun.Star Cebu)
(April 29, 2006 issue)
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