Outraged online users, ex-lawmaker urge DepEd to take action vs ‘child grooming’

October 10, 2024 - 5:33 PM
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Silhouette of a child and an adult. (Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

A page dedicated to university memes calculated that a 60-year-old principal possibly had been in a relationship with his student-turned-wife since she was 15.

According to PUP Memes’ viral post, principal Benedict Mary Ambos was already at the ripe age of 51 when he formed a romantic relationship with his former student. The two have a 36-year age gap.

In addition, the student was only 19 years old when she got married to Benedict and became pregnant with him in 2020. 

The controversy stirred from Benedict’s now-deleted post that detailed how he and the pupil first had a student-teacher relationship before becoming spouses.

“Sinong mag-aakala na ang katabi kong bata sa Grade [5] Advisory Class ko ay magiging asawa ko pala at magkakaroon kami ng napa-cute na anak. May age gap kami na 36 years. God is really working wonders,” Benedict wrote.

In the post, the principal also thanked the Couples for Christ Saint Dominic Savio Chapter and the Schools Division Office under the Department of Education.

The post garnered over 16,000 comments, 45,000 shares and nearly 100,000 reactions on Facebook before it was taken down.

Filipinos across different social media platforms pointed out the principal’s “predatory” and “pedophilic” acts.

“Did I just read a story of how this man basically groomed a teenage student? Is this a humble brag about morals because this is just plain disgusting!🤢 🤮 That kid did not even experience life before being locked into a relationship with a geriatric,” a Facebook user commented.

“Sana mapansin ng DepEd. This is seriously alarming,” another wrote.

A Tiktok creator who goes by @pathead04 labeled the principal as a “groomer.”

“Mukhang ginamit niya ang pagiging maka-Diyos niya para maka-manipulate at makapag groom ng bata,” she said in a video.

Responding to critics, Benedict clarified in a recent Facebook post that their relationship became official when she was in high school but was kept private because he did not want to lose his teaching license. According to him, he even got his approval from the student’s father to court her.

“Tinatanong ako ng kanyang mga kapatid kung kailan ko kukunin si Stef pero hindi ako pumayag dahil alam ko magkakaroon ako ng kaso at sinabi kong handa akong maghintay hanggang 18 years old nya,” he added.

Ex-lawmaker: Anti-grooming laws must be enforced

Gabriela Women’s party-list first nominee and former representative Sarah Elago strongly condemned the principal’s actions which she described as a “blatant case of grooming and abuse of power.”

She also called for anti-grooming laws and a probe into the “prevalent” grooming of minors in a school setting.

“Nakakabahala ito lalo’t nagiging laganap ang grooming sa mga eskwelahan ngayon. Children must be protected from predators, especially in spaces where they should feel safe—like schools,” Elago said.

“An immediate investigation into this case must be launched, and the teacher’s license should be revoked to prevent him from potentially victimizing other children,” the former lawmaker added.

The Department of Education has not yet released a statement on the issue as of writing.