Priest stripped of duties over rape try
The priest arrested by police after he allegedly tried to sexually abuse a 13-year-old girl in Marikina City has been stripped of his duties by the Catholic Church.
Msgr. Arnel Lagarejos, 55, was ordered removed from his post at the St. John the Baptist Parish in Taytay, Rizal by Antipolo Bishop Francis de Leon.
“Bishop De Leon has stripped Lagarejos of his position in the diocese,” the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) announced in its website.
Lagarejos was also removed as president of the Cainta Catholic College, the CBCP said.
The Diocese of Antipolo is conducting its own investigation on the allegations against Lagarejos, the CBCP said.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the diocese assured the public that it would respect the criminal procedures initiated by police against the priest.
“The Diocese of Antipolo is looking into the incident involving his arrest,” the statement read.
Investigation conducted by the Eastern Police District (EPD) showed that Lagarejos was apprehended while he was supposedly taking the girl to a motel in Marikina on Friday night.
EPD director Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula said Lagarejos was collared near a mall along Sumulong Highway in Barangay Sto. Niño at around 6:30 p.m.
Sapitula said a team from the Marikina police and Department of Social Welfare and Development caught Lagarejos in his sport utility vehicle – a gray Ford Explorer – with the minor.
Police said Lagarejos sought the services of the girl, an out-of-school youth, through a 16-year-old pimp, who was also arrested during the operation.
Sapitula said the arrests were made after the girl’s mother sought police help.
Authorities said they recovered from Lagarejos an iPhone 5s supposedly containing his text messages to the pimp and the victim.
The Diocese of Antipolo said the criminal charges filed against Lagarejos “are serious allegations that have to be dealt by the authorities accordingly.”
The diocese appealed to the public to refrain from issuing comments that might worsen the situation.
“We appeal to the faithful to pray that the truth may come out,” it said.
No VIP treatment
Lagarejos is being held at the Marikina police station on charges of trafficking of a minor.
“He is detained together with the other inmates,” Marikina police chief Senior Superintendent Roger Quezada said, adding that no VIP treatment is given to the priest. “We treat him as an ordinary inmate.”
Police filed charges of violation of Republic Act 9208, the Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act, against Lagarejos before the Marikina prosecutor’s office on Saturday.
Lagarejos initially introduced himself as a self-employed man but later admitted that he was a priest during police interrogation.