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	Fr. Ejares Asks DOJ to Junk Sellon's Ruling By Nilda Gallo Cebu Daily News March 13, 2008 http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20080313-124445/Fr-Ejares-asks-DOJ-to-junk-Sellons-ruling CEBU CITY, Philippines - Father Benedicto Ejares has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reverse the Feb. 28 resolution of Cebu City Prosecutor Nicholas Sellon that found probable cause to charge him in court for child abuse. Ejares, through his lawyers Antonio Bacalso and Gregorio Bacolod, filed a petition for review, asking the DOJ to adopt the July 4 and Sept. 29 resolutions of the City Prosecutor's Office junking the complaint for acts of lasciviousness and unjust vexation filed by seven high school students of the Abellana National School. In a 17-page petition dated March 10, lawyers of the priest said that Sellon committed "manifest errors" in changing his finding from "inappropriate acts" to "other acts of child abuse" without sufficient basis and contrary to jurisprudence. In an earlier resolution, Sellon ruled that the alleged touching of the priest could be considered "inappropriate" but did not constitute the crime of abuse. The "inappropriate acts" referred to the alleged touching of shoulders, forearms, backs and bra straps of the seven students by Ejares during confession at the grandstand of Cebu City Sports Complex. But in a Feb. 28 resolution, Sellon said that the "inappropriate acts" committed by the priest "cannot just be ignored or brushed aside." Sellon believes that there exists sufficient evidence to indict the priest in court for "other acts of abuse" defined and penalized under Section 10 of Republic Act 7610, a special law which protects children against abuse, exploitation and discrimination. Ejares' lawyers said that Sellon's change of position disregarded the earlier rulings of the Supreme Court in People vs. Balbar and People vs. Anonuevo, whose cases were dismissed by invoking earlier resolutions. The lawyers said determining whether or not a crime has been committed should not only be based on the acts themselves but also on the surrounding environmental circumstances. They emphasized that the confession was done in an open field and in open view to the public from Nov. 6-7, 2006 and Nov. 13-14, 2006 during a spiritual seminar initiated by the Oasis of Love. "There were a lot of people around — students (about 500), priests, and facilitators. The appellant (Ejares) must have been crazy to do the 'acts of abuse' because the people around were closely nearby and watching," the petition read. Ejares earlier explained that his "touching," or placing of his arm on the shoulders, was his way of "making the students feel at ease and encouraging them to tell their sins as well as comforting and consoling them for them for they were sorry for their sins." The lawyers said that of all the students who confessed to Ejares, only seven filed the complaints. "These students might not have liked his style of confession, but the great majority of those who also confessed did not find anything wrong with the questioned acts," said the counsels. In finding probable cause for "other acts of child abuse," Ejares' counsels said Sellon just rationalized the subject, "touching," as detrimental to the moral and spiritual development of the children. They said the children merely misinterpreted and misunderstood the acts of the priest. Ejares lawyer's also questioned Sellon's act of ordering the complainants, through their counsels, to submit affidavits of verification to their motion for reconsideration on the earlier resolution dropping the case of the priest. When complainants asked for a reconsideration, their motion was not verified, which, the lawyers said, was in violation of section 56 of the manual of the Prosecutor. They said the actuation of Sellon could be perceived as an act of accommodation in light of the alleged constant attacks from the media against the Office of the Prosecutor for dismissing the cases against the priest. They also questioned why Sellon allowed the complainants to introduce new evidence — the psychological report — during the reconsideration stage.
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