DAVAO CITY – An alliance for children’s rights expressed disappointment over the Laguna Regional trial court’s decision to acquit former Italian diplomat Daniel Bosio on charges of three counts of human trafficking and child abuse.
In a statement, the SALINLAHI Alliance for Children’s Concerns said no words can express their anger “over the failure of the court to bring justice for the three children who fell victims in the hands of this person in authority, and a foreigner at that.”
Kharlo Manano, secretary general of Salinlahi said the court has “intentionally closed its eyes” on the merits of the complaint and merely echoed the accused’s argument that he only acted in response to his moral and social duty of helping the street children.
Last April 2014, Danielle Bosio, an Italian national, was arrested after he brought three street children, all boys, in a resort in Binan, Laguna without the consent of their parents. The minors also told that before going to the resort, the accused brought them to his condominium where he personally bathed them and scrubbed their naked bodies.
In the testimonies of victims, they were given food, clothes and money before bringing them to his condominium and to the resort.
“It is very clear that Bosio has taken advantage of the vulnerability of the children by portraying himself as a philanthropic always ready to lend his hands to the less fortunate. This rhetoric has been rampantly used by pedophiles and sex offenders to justify their vile acts,” Manano said.
Manano said Bosio was charged with three counts of qualified trafficking in persons under Section 4 (a), in relation to Section 6 (a) of R.A. 9208, as amended by R.A. 10364; and another three (3) counts of other acts of child abuse in violation of Section 10 (b) of R.A. 7610. However, last November 19, Laguna Regional Trial Court Assisting Judge Efren Santos ordered the dismissal of the case for insufficiency of evidence.
He said a case of the same nature filed against Bosio pending in the Quezon City court is at risk of being resolved since the accused had already fled the country last November 26.
Manano said they believe the government intervened in the court’s decision as it came only weeks before the state visit of President Benigno Aquino III to Italy.
“We believe that Malacanang intervened. The timing is quite suspect, it seemed that Aquino used it as ‘pasalubong’ to the government of Italy in order to save the reputation of the Italian government in exchange for the promise of investments from the European country to our own,” he said.
Manano urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to “reexamine the decision of the Laguna Regional Trial Court and hold accountable those who may have failed in their responsibility to bring forth justice.” (davaotoday.com)
