Int’l Rights Group Seek Probe on Inmate with Facebook Account

The International Justice Mission (IJM) Cebu, an international human rights group, has called for an investigation of a Cebu City Jail inmate who allegedly has access to the Internet and maintains a Facebook account.

IJM Cebu special counsel for legal interventions Maria Laarni Sheila Guico complained that inmate Clark Socorin, who is involved in a human trafficking case, is trying to influence his victims through social media.

“The accused has sent messages, through Facebook, to the victims, dissuading them from testifying against him and threatening to contract hired killers to get back at his opponents,” she wrote in a letter addressed to Cebu City Jail Warden Johnson Calub.

Guico said threatening victims is a violation of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.

Guico said Section 5h of the law states, “It is illegal to tamper with, destroy, or cause the destruction of evidence, or to influence or attempt to influence witnesses, in an investigation or prosecution of a case.”

Guico’s letter was also furnished to Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, head of the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC), the Regional Trial Court Branch 20 and Cebu City Assistant Prosecutor Rogelio del Prado.

The jail management said it has immediately investigated the 19-year-old Socorin, who has been detained since last June 18 for alleged trafficking of persons.

The result of the investigation, dated April 28, was submitted to PCAC.

JOI Bartolome Reasol III, the case investigator, said in his report that Socorin denied the accusation against him, saying that he has no access to his Facebook account or a device to access the Internet.

But Socorin said his younger sister also has access to his social media account.

“Before the hearing of my case, I asked my sibling to message the alleged victims to just tell the truth and not to get me in trouble because I didn’t do anything wrong),” he said in his sworn statement in Cebuano.

Five individuals claimed to be Socorin’s victims. They were his neighbors in Mandaue City.

Reasol said he checked Socorin’s Facebook account, with permission, during the investigation.

Reasol said he found no threatening or offensive messages in Socorin’s Facebook account inbox. (PNA) RMA/EB/EDS