ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'I just want to go to school without being raped': Student walks out of school graduation to seek PBBM's help

'I just want to go to school without being raped': Student walks out of school graduation to seek PBBM's help

Published Mar 31, 2026 09:25 pm
An 11-year-old girl walked out from her graduation in Camarines Sur in protest to the plight of her "sister," who was allegedly sexually abused, kidnapped and had her baby aborted by the son of a barangay councilor in their hometown.
What's worse, another son had also allegedly sexually abused another girl in their area in 2018.
Maureen Delos Santos, an elementary graduate of Caloco Elementary School, sought help from President Marcos in a letter that the President said he had received.
"Your letter has reached me and brought me close to tears and made me very angry," the President said in response.
"I am sending policemen to you and your sisters to protect you and to find anyone who has hurt any of you," he added.
In her letter to the President dated March 30, Delos Santos, one of the 29 children being taken care of by the Redeemer Homeless Mission, said she walked out from her graduation to submit a petition against a barangay councilor (kagawad) in their area.
She said one of her "sisters," Ivy, who loved to read, was on her way home when she had been sexually abused by the son of the kagawad in two separate instances in November 2022 and February 2023.
"Ivy got pregnant from the first rape and the Kagawad kidnapped her, sent her to Montalban and had the baby aborted and murdered. Then the tauhan (staff) they sent with Ivy raped her again and she now no longer goes to school," Delos Santos' message read.
"This Kagawad has another son too that raped a girl in 2018. As a child I have watched this Kagawad threaten us, cut and steal our electrical wires so we have no electricity, and cut and steal the wires to our balon so we have no water," she added.
Delos Santos cited more actions of the councilor that she witnessed, including setting grass on fire, putting nails on tires and destroying their coconut plantation.
"Question Mr. President, how will we read if we are being raped? How will we read if our own government people cut our electrical wire so we have no lights?" she asked.
"We are kids. We are not involved in your political parties. I just want to go to school without being raped. So can you please help us?" she pleaded.
In response, the President said he will make sure that Delos Santos will be able to continue reading and studying as much as she wants.
"You are a very brave, intelligent and very kind girl and I will make sure to help you and your sisters in any way you need," Marcos said.
"P.S. If there is anything else that you need, just get in touch with us and we will help," he added.

Related Tags

President Marcos Redeemer Homeless Mission
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.