Although the Philippines is bilingual, English is the official language of the judicial and administrative systems. Anyone appearing at court who doesn't speak English is supplied with a translator. Filipino, or Tagalog, is the native language of the region around Manila and was designated as the co-national language after independence. Both languages are taught at schools from Yr. 1. Most Filipinos, except for those from the Tagalog region, are tri-lingual, with their native tongue being the language of their home region.
PREDA was involved in some very suspect activities when I was living in Angeles in the early 2000s. They would bring underaged girls, about 12-15 years old, from their orphanage in Olongapo to Angeles, about 90 km. away, then use them as baits by making them approach drunks in the streets of Balibago, the Western bar district, until the early morning. Authorities were very strict in keeping underage girls out of the bars, so the ploy was designed to trap naive drunken sexpats. No consideration of the effect on the girls.
Just before I left the Philippines in 2002, the priest who founded PREDA was arrested in Olongapo and charged with multiple acts of molesting young boys from his orphanage. I read later that he was acquitted when the boys refused to testify against him in court; a scenario which should be familiar to long term Cambodian expats.

UPDATE: It seems that John Rofheart, who was wanted for sex crimes against minors in the Philippines, was indeed hiding out in Cambodia. It is reported that he died on Saturday in a Phnom Penh apartment.


Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): A 71-year-old American man, JOHN EDWARD ROFHEART, an online author, passed away on September 12, 2020, at 5 pm, in room 503, at Twin Lucky Apartment, on street 21, Sangkat Tonle Basac, Khan Chamkarmorn, Phnom Penh.


After the examination, the police determined that the victim died of a heart attack and blood pressure. The body was taken to keep at Teuk Thlar pagoda.

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2019 11:58 pm Heads up. This was posted on social media tonight. The man's name is JOHN ROFHEART and his nationality is not given. There is a warrant out for his arrest in the Philippines for Human Trafficking under Section 4a. (See below.)





Pedophile/human trafficker, John Rofheart, escaped from Philipinnes and entered Cambodia.

Please help to locate and report him.

Child Protection Unit Cambodia:
+855(0)23 991 944 (Khmer)
+855(0)23 988 999 (English)

Kampot Immigration (Mr. Sophea):
087 289 431

APLE Cambodia:
023 996 351
012 584 194

https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repact ... Zw5CWNdK18

I'm dismayed that despite the fact that there was an official warrant out for this man's arrest from the Philippines, he managed to live out his last days doing whatever he was doing in Phnom Penh without being bothered or sent back to the Philippines for trial.
I don't think that Cambodia has an extradition treaty with the Philippines, but there are always means to deport undesirables. What about the US ? I'm pretty sure that it is a crime in the US for US citizens to engage in sex-trafficking and pedophilia in foreign countries.

How come this was posted on CEO (and FB) more than a year ago - july 2019 - with masses of photos to identify the perp - and nobody in Cambodia lifted a finger ? Or in the US either.
It's too late to weep and wail now, but this is so wrong.

They (US embassy) usually wait for his passport to expire then arrest him, either the local or feds.