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	Vidal Says Fr. Ejares in Manila Cebu Daily News October 10, 2007 http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view_article.php?article_id=93614 CEBU CITY, Philippines – Diocesan priest Father Benedicto Ejares may not be in Cebu. Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal told reporters on Tuesday that he heard that Ejares was in Manila. The prelate would not say whether Ejares would return to Cebu now that he was cleared of charges of acts of lasciviousness by the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office. But he said Ejares is considered "incardinated" which means he is still part of the roster of priests who serve in the Archdiocese of Cebu because, the Cardinal said, there is no reason "to throw him out." Ejares' authority to say Mass and "especially (hear) confessions are still suspended," Vidal told reporters after signing the Channel Distribution Agreement between the Cebu Catholic Television Network and the Cable Box Office Shows and Systems Corporation that will enable CCTN to be seen in other parts of the world. The agreement will also allow CCTN to be at par with leading international channels such as HBO, Cinemax, Music Television and Star Sports. Asked if he issued new orders in light of Ejares' "improper behavior," the prelate said: "It has been an old, old advice (to priests) that we should in public always show ourselves as priests and nothing else." Vidal said he was happy that the case against Ejares was dismissed." "As a churchman, of course, I am happy that it's already closed. Then other people would like to open it again, I don't know why," he told reporters. "For me, it (case) is already closed and I thank our institutions that closed it," he added. Vidal said that the public has to "respect our institutions," referring to the prosecutor's office. On October 3, the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office dismissed the complaint of acts of lasciviousness filed by seven female students of Abellana National High School against Ejares. The students had complained that the priest put his arms around them, caressed their arms and backs and toyed with their brastraps while hearing their individual confessions at the grandstand of Cebu City Sports Complex. In the resolution dismissing the complaint, the prosecutors said they did not believe that Ejares had malicious intent when he touched the seven teenagers. They said "it would require an unreasonable overstretching of one's imagination" to conclude that the priest's gestures – touching the arms, backs and shoulders of the girls – were done with "lewd designs." But the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Cebu City government are not about to let Ejares off the hook. They plan to file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of the students. The motion will include a psychological evaluation report of the seven girls, which was not included in the original complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7). The NBI-7 officials did not include the report when they filed the complaint at the prosecutor's office because they thought the students' affidavits were enough evidence, said Cebu City Councilor Gerry Carillo. The omission of the report was cited as a reason why Fr. Ejares wasn't held to answer a charge of violation of the Child Abuse law. Cebu City Councilor Edgardo Labella said students were supposed to enjoy the protection of the Child Protection Act (Republic Act 7610) and that the complaint of child abuse was graver than any other complaint for acts of lasciviousness."
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