"Soldiers of God"

"This is a harrowing story of rape, sexual violence, child abuse, forced marriage perpetrated on minors by a cult in the municipality of Socorro, Suragao del Norte."

"We are talking about over a thousand young people in the hands of a deceitful, cruel, and abusive cult ... real children are in danger, and time is of the essence."

"We cannot, we must not, look away."

Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros

 

"We urgently call upon the government, specifically our law enforcement agencies, to conduct immediate and thorough investigations into these incidents, secure the protection of the affected children, and bring the perpetrators to justice."

Time is of the essence and we fear that there could be more affected children who are unaccounted for, and whose lives and future are at risk."

"Our work to protect children doesn't end with the passage of laws; it begins there. It is of utmost importance that laws around protecting children from abuse and early marriage are not merely words on paper but are instead, rigorously implemented and enforced."
Alberto Muyot, chief executive, Philippines branch Save the Children

Socorro Bayanihan Services reportedly has at least 3,500 members

A group recognized as an exploitative, quasi-religious cult known as Omega de Salonera surfaced in 2017, instilling fear over a powerful earthquake in 2019 to lure people to come to the mountains where the cult's leaders, escaping scrutiny, commit "monstrous" abuses while operating a covert drugs operation whose activities are protected by their own private army.

Filipino lawmakers revealed that the group has up to 3,500 members, led by Jey Rence B Quilario, referred to as "The Messiah". The chairman of the Philippine senate committee on women and children used her congressional privilege to accuse Quilario and his associates of widespread exploitation, demanding action to address its existence and come to the rescue of the vulnerable children trapped within the group.

 

After an earthquake rocked the region, the cult exploited the natural disaster to lure thousands to its cause in its mountain lair

 

Another senator, Ronald Dela Rosa, accused the group's leaders as well of making "human shields" of cult members to avoid drug trafficking prosecution. He too demanded an immediate probe into the group's activities. Reports he received claim the group runs a methamphetamine laboratory operating out of an underground bunker located near the "White House" where Quilario and other cult leaders live, protected by a private army supported by a local extremist group.

Testimony was cited from adults and children who managed to escape the cult, a 15-year-old among them who spoke of having been forced into marriage with a 21-year-old man when she was 13. Quilario locked her in a room with the man, forcing her into sex, telling the man "he had the right to rape her" because they were, after all, married. 

 

Quilario, according to Senator Hontiveros, raped children himself, prevented minors from attending school, demanded up to 60 percent of members' pensions and welfare payments, and smuggled drugs. Young girls, affirmed Senator Dela Rosa, trapped within the cult were forced to have sex with Quilario before being married at age 12.

Anna Fionah L. Bojos, member of the Cebu for Human Rights NGO documented forced labour, children forced to haul sand and rocks. "Although the cult said it was voluntary labour on their part, they were actually monitored and disciplined for failure to do work", said Bojos, saying children were physically assaulted if work was considered unsatisfactory and sometimes sent to "foxholes" for up to a week of solitary confinement.

Children were also required to do "masi-masi" every day; physical exercises; jogging with a sack full of rocks; undergo obstacle challenges; firearm and bladed weapons handling; learn martial arts; swim and crawl in the mud full of waste and urine. Socorro Bayanihan Services deny the accusations, claiming children had been taught to "fabricate" such stories.

Since then, more former cult members have emerged, a 28-year-old former Agila Squad member (armed wing of Socorro Bayanihan Services) reporting that over 100 members were part of the squad, among them children as young as 12, undergoing combat training, told they were "soldiers of God" involved in a divine mission.