Philippine cult's 'baby Jesus' leaves alleged trail of child brides, sexual abuse

Senate hears harrowing accounts from children who managed to escape

- Raul Dancel

To his thousands of followers living on a remote island in war-torn southern Philippines, Mr Jey Rence Quilario is the reincarnation of "Santo Nino" - the baby Jesus.

But a Senate investigation last week revealed a trail of sexual violence, child brides, paedophilia and drug trafficking that leads back to this self-styled "saviour".

"This is a harrowing story of rape, sexual violence, child abuse, forced marriage perpetrated on minors by a cult. This cult is armed and dangerous," Senator Risa Hontiveros said last Monday.

"We are talking about over a thousand young people in the hands of a deceitful, cruel and abusive cult," she said.

Mr Quilario, only 22 years old, is the leader of the quasi-religious group Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc (SBSI), which has roots in Socorro, an island town in Surigao del Norte province with a population of just over 25,000.

It currently has 3,500 members, including some 1,600 children whom Ms Hontiveros and child rights activists are now trying to save.