The Philippines: A place that many retired men and women make their final home. Most of them are married to local nationals, have good families and are happy. Some, sadly, know only that the cost of living here is low and that drink is cheap, and have family problems, if they have a family at all. Some other men and women, not falling into the above two categories, find the activities available here great: Hiking, running, bicycle riding, sailing, diving, and flying, to name just a few; there is so much to see; a vacationer’s paradise. It is tropical; there is no cold weather, unless you figure 70ºF (21ºC) to be freezing. The people are friendly, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money here.
Furthermore, English is spoken here. . .maybe not perfectly, with grammar totally lost at times, but at least understandable. My favorite phrase here is to state dates in the format of “Last 22 January 1999, …” (is there a previous 22 January 1999?).
As of this writing in 2004-2005, the exchange rate to the United States dollar is 56 Pesos, so assume 50 Pesos per dollar for ease of calculation. A jeepney (local public transport) charges 5 1/2 Pesos (about 10 cents) for passengers on a local trip up to a mile (1.6 Km). There are thousands of these passenger vehicles vying for passengers, and they can cram nearly 20 people onto a jeepney. That means for a trip, his gross income may be no more than 150 Pesos (and quite often less, having ridden jeepneys many times with myself as the only passenger), or less than three U.S. dollars per trip. From that comes diesel, oil, maintenance, insurance, boundary fees, food, clothing and shelter for his wife and children, plus education expenses. Worse, if he has an accident, there is no guarantee that the insurance will cover him.
Sadly, you can find college graduates waiting tables or doing menial tasks; the economy just cannot support the number of people in this country. I think personally that is the reason that graft and corruption is what it is; well educated people earning low pay or trying to leave the country to get adequate pay, and uneducated people doing whatever they can to live: It is struggle, however you can, to survive.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer on April 12, 2004, front page, a certain worker in a fast food restaurant in Manila makes less than six thousand pesos (barely over one hundred U.S. dollars) per month. I certainly would hope that is a typo, but even still, even at weekly pay, that’s low. As of this writing, most families in this country only provide schooling to their children up to the sixth year of school, which meets the government’s basic requirements for schooling; the children are needed to help bring income, or to assist at home or on the farm. Sad, but true.
As you can see from the above, the costs for a tourist are low. For this reason and more, the temptation to engage in illegal activities is high. It is therefore a common practice here that anyone who has a fairly nice house to have bars and walls all around; not only to keep bad people out, but to protect their children from traffic, which is dangerous, and houses often front busy streets with barely enough room for a sidewalk in some areas, not to mention the standard lot for a house is on the neighborhood of 300 square meters (about 2,700 sq. ft.), with many lots even smaller. My house, for example, is a converted duplex apartment in an area that once was the U.S. Navy officer’s off-base quarters called “Admiral.” Now my house is a single four bedroom, three bath house sitting on two titled lots totaling more than 600 square meters, quite large by Filipino residence standards. I have neighbors on both sides of me with multiple families living in the houses, yet Shay Cullen has said in public media that I live “in a secluded area.” Certainly, it is not in the middle of town, but secluded? A residential subdivision, less than 100 meters from a high school on one side and 200 meters from an elementary school on the other side is considered secluded?
Why, you may ask, is the above paragraph concerning housing and bars on the gates, etc.? As I said, this is common to many families, and young children can often be seen at the bars of the gate, especially if someone or something is interesting. Shay Cullen, I believe, made use of this fact with his depiction and photo in one of his web pages, stating that the child in the photograph on his web page was a child abuse victim, and the picture was taken shortly before being rescued. If so, why were not the names of the adults published, and charges filed against them? After all, he publishes my name constantly as a pedophile without getting any case in court, so why this omission on his part? Is it possible that the statement was only hype?
My wife and my friends know what he is, as they know me for what I am: A man who believes that his children should be protected from such abusive publications of which he is fond of writing. Yet calls for his deportation by the local people are ignored by the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation!
In fact, as of this writing, a current case is in court for just such publications (the case mentioned above dealing with R.A. 7610)! I do not intend to address any of the active cases until they are finished by the courts, other than to present actions that are already a matter of public record. Considering that Shay Cullen is also on trial since July 1998 for grave oral defamation uttered in Branch 72, Regional Trial Court, and as of this writing, he has yet to present his defense, the consideration of those items by the public will be a long time in coming. All I want to address in this book are the obvious lies and misdeeds where Shay Cullen is involved.
However, in 1998, I became aware that Shay Cullen began an attempt to frame me for something I did not do; further, he has even filed charges against my son for the rape of my daughter (which my son did not do) in retaliation for the charge of rape that was filed against him (I’ll cover those incidents later). According to Shay Cullen, my daughter was raped twelve or more times by two children, yet she managed to survive all those “assaults” with an intact hymen! I have fought vigorously to protect my children, and in doing so, I have become what Shay Cullen calls a member of the “sex mafia” and attempts by me to have him charged for such libel have all been dismissed! Why?
Because of the above, I find Cullen’s current ad campaign for removing children from jail quite cynical; after all, it is he and his staff who are charging children for crimes the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are no longer pursuing (655-2001). He started this campaign publicly, but he will never stop charging these children for something they really did not do seven years ago in 1997. Frankly, if the case ever does go to trial (and it has not as of this writing, although filed to the court in 2000), he also is in trouble, as the witness, my daughter, will be telling the court who really raped her (I'll explain that on a separate link).
When my daughter was taken from her school, I was told it would be “for two or three days.” Cullen did not say that to me, the DSWD did, and their report dated February 19, 1998 stated “The initial plan of the PREDA Social Worker was to keep Gloria in the center for about two or three days and when there’ll be no serious problems with her, she can be reintegrated to her family,” which shows that the Preda social workers were clearly only investigating a possible abuse, but certainly he did not believe that she would ever be returned, because according to my daughter, she was told from the very first day that she would never be returning to her family (see page 21). A child, seven years old, should never have any strangers, no matter how good their intentions, be told that she will never be able to see her family. Mr. John Brand, a retired computer science professor, heard those words from her and made an affidavit to that affect, but the justice system here did not deem it enough to warrant serious consideration. I do.
Anyway, when I got my daughter back, she was an emotional and mental wreck so obvious that reporters noted her actions in public newspapers. After several years of love and caring, she is back to being a normal, healthy girl. She still has a serious face whenever she sees Shay Cullen in court, and turns to my wife for comfort.
For the next three years, every time that Cullen would write something about me or my children, I filed charges against him in Olongapo City, all in all, some 50 or more filings, of which only five got to court (1 libel, withdrawn by the Regional State Prosecutor in San Fernando, Pampanga; 1 grave oral defamation (still ongoing); 1 violation of R.A. 7610 for publicizing child abuse cases (still ongoing); 1 perjury against 2 Preda staff (withdrawn by the Regional State Prosecutor); and 1 rape (withdrawn by the Office of the President of the Philippines). However, if you review Shay Cullen’s web site, http://www.preda.org, you’ll be informed that the Olongapo Sex Mafia filed all those complaints. They did not - I did. Shay Cullen needs people to think that he is under attack by a “sex Mafia” of some sort. I am not a criminal, I resent him telling the world I am a criminal, and I resent him telling to the world lies about my children and myself. Hence, because I am denied justice by the prosecutors who seem to protect Shay Cullen by denying any filing of charges to court, this book. In this book, I will expose his lies with clear images of his documents as well as other public documents.
Another point: My wife and I filed a complaint for his deportation July 2004, and Shay Cullen is stating on his web site now that complaints for his deportation filed recently are coming from “local politicians.” Seems I am now the “local politicians” as well as a member of the “Olongapo Sex Mafia.”
I own no business, having enough income from my retirement not to be required to work, and have no desire whatsoever to engage in any business. As such, where is my income from such nefarious activities as he alleges (and please note he has no charges in court against me because he has no such “proof” since 1998)? Can I get Shay Cullen in court for such accusations? No. He has tried several times to charge me with obstruction of justice, violation of Republic Act 7610 (the child abuse laws), and libel. All cases have been dismissed, but he still publishes my name and his version of the “facts” on his web page, and I am powerless to stop him because the courts want positive identification from the Internet Web Site that the writings are his, so therefore I cannot bring charges of libel against him in this country. This is my answer to him, and I will include things that he has said about my children and I, as well as my rebuttals, plus facts he does not want the public to know. There is nothing malicious about presenting the truth in the face of malicious lies that Shay Cullen published; it is only a demand that the whole truth be told.
Shay Cullen has cost me my peace in retirement, a lot of money to defend myself and my family for his unprovoked verbal and written attacks (which he likes to call my complaints “counter-complaints” irregardless of the fact that he has no complaint filed against me), and where I should be living a very comfortable life, I am driving a rusting heap for a car, a house I cannot afford to keep up with on the maintenance, my children have lost schooling due to his attempt to abduct her a second time after I had her returned to my custody by court order, my adopted son ran away and had to be hospitalized for more than a year in a mental institute, and I have not spoken to my parents for several years because they would not help defend their grandchildren. In fact, I was told by them that they “would not sue a priest.” I don’t care if he is a priest; he should not be above the law, and because of their written statement to me, I have not spoken to them for several years!
Actually, I will be discussing ALL the cases to some extent in this book, because to fully understand the corruption and outright denial of justice that is going on, one must see how Shay Cullen and some members of his staff have obstructed justice, manipulated prosecutors, and overall made an outright mockery of the law, for which he claims to be receiving the Nobel Peace Prize nearly every year since 2000. However, those active cases in court will be touched only lightly. Complaints filed and never acted upon will be discussed fully with a complete listing of the attachments that were ignored by the prosecutors, and as any respondent, as well as the complainant, should be given a speedy resolution, the delay and inaction amounts to, in my mind at least, as obstruction of justice. If there is no resolution from the prosecutors, why not? Perhaps they were “persuaded” to not issue a resolution, or even to deny justice to a wronged person.
So, let’s be very up front and honest here. IF Shay Cullen was a private person, I might possibly be liable for libel, except that I am relying heavily on the truth, but he is not a private person by his own admission: He has claimed on his web page (I took the precaution of downloading such claims and safeguarding them for future use) that he is a reporter, among other things (which he denies in counter-affidavits); he claims nomination to the Nobel Peace Prize (which fact I believe to be true, and I will have a few words about this later, as well as photos of his well-painted walls and billboards at Preda), and that puts him in the public spotlight; he claims to be the protector of women and children’ rights, and that puts in the public spotlight. He has further admitted to being a columnist, photographer, journalist, and even working for Mother Theresa!
The forgoing, by his own admission on his web pages and in previous articles in several newspapers, is that he is a public personality, and his writings and urgings are certainly politically motivated, claiming responsibility for several achievements such as the removal of the American bases here.
Why the discussion about private, public or political figures? Well, according to certain legal sources I checked out, a political figure is easy to talk about without being charged with libel; a public figure is also easy to talk about, but one must use at least a modicum of décor; a private person is one that should not be talked about without the serious consideration of the libel laws. In any event, according to the lawyers I checked with, even the most private person can be discussed on any forum without fear if only TRUTH is adhered to. I am a very private person, yet I’ve been libeled by Shay Cullen, and I have had no justice as of yet through the courts in the Philippines. I, therefore, take to this medium to present to the world facts about a public figure who is now being exposed in this book for his lies, and perhaps his own writings will convince the reader that he is a con artist, interested in donations, glory and fame, and is willing to lie to the world to get such glory. One such proof of his desire for fame is some of his publishing on his web site http://www.preda.org, such as “Legal Successes” (May 21, 1999), “Fr. Cullen on the Conspiracy Against His Work” January 5, 2001, “Priest claims lack of Government support” January 5, 2001, “The Crucifixion of Shay Cullen” (April 15, 2001), “Rescuing Prostituted Children- A Personal Account by Fr. Shay Cullen” (April-June 2001 newsletter), “Priest Eases Pain of Children” (April 20, 2001), plus several more in European languages (mostly German, to my knowledge) naming him for receiving awards are published on his web site.
In any event, whether he be public, political or private person, his main problem with me is that I am exposing him; Shay Cullen may be judged by the reader to be a liar, and I will present within these pages such proof as I have; but it is up to the reading public to come to their own conclusions. Is he, in fact, a con artist, claiming glory for preventing and protecting against child abuse? Is he guilty of the rape of my daughter, destruction of families, and framing up of innocent persons for crimes they did not commit? I am not afraid of defending myself against him, should he file libel charges. In fact, I welcome such charges, provided that international media be allowed to report openly on the progress of such a trial!
Hey, Shay Cullen! How about a fair court battle under the scrutiny of the world? You know, file a real complaint, not like the ones later described in this book (see chapter 2). I’ll even personally invite all the local newspapers, CNN, Fox News, BBC, the Nobel Institute, the Commission of Human Rights, representatives of any embassy from any nation that cares to find out the truth, and especially the Love and Human Rights Forum of Tokyo, Japan, plus the Vatican, and you can invite all your supporters! I’d really like to see you accept this invitation!
For some reason, I suspect that charges will be filed against me secretly, or with a false address to the prosecutors, or some other underhanded tactic that he has and will use again, or I may even wind up dead. Read what underhanded tricks he and his supporters have used and got caught with, but could I get justice for his misdeeds? Not hardly.
Is this man worthy of being a priest? The Catholic Church seems to think so, for they have ignored my information sent to them about his misdeeds. It is lucky that I am not a Catholic, or I might be facing excommunication for writing this book!
Does the International Commission on Human Rights intervene when asked for help? Well, so far, no.
I do hope that the Nobel Institute in Norway considers seriously the implications that will befall if Shay Cullen is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Shay Cullen has been nominated at least twice by his supporters, and I think that he may have been a driving force behind such nominations for his own glory. If that is not the case, then the persons who made the nominations were seriously misled by Shay Cullen’s propaganda.
I am keeping two original copies of the manuscript in two separate places for my own security. They are identifiable with a special background that only I, my wife, daughter, and a few select persons know about, for the original copies will be thoroughly cross-checked for errors prior to release to the world, and will be used to verify any complaints filed, simply because I do not trust Shay Cullen and some of his supporters from trying to frame me, as has been done in the past.
The last paragraph of this book makes a couple of suggestions. Perhaps the reader would like to consider other options.
In the book at this point I placed three pictures of Preda Foundation Inc. The first shown is a view through the woods looking at the observation decks overlooking the bay. It is my understanding that the nearer observation deck is part of Shay Cullen's living area, yet affidavits he presented to prosecutors is that he has a humble room.
Airial view of Preda complex. The isolation is evident. The main building is the large red roof, the children's quarters are in the smaller green roofed building to the left, and the larger observation deck is to the right. At the top of the photo, the long thin building is his factory. The buildings to the bottom of the main building are, as I understand, illegal constructions. The story of those buildings are part of the history of Preda.
In this view, the sheer size of the Preda complex becomes even more evident. There is a small village at the bottom left. These villagers have had a very hard time with Preda. In 1992, they were on the road protesting the disruption of their water because of Preda. To this day, they cart water to their cement water storage that they had to have built, and children as well as adults push wooden carts of sometime as many as six plastic water containers (5 gallons/20 liters) up the hill to get their water for the village, except when they can get a water truck to bring in the water.
