Some 19 children, including three boys, were found to have been forced into common-law relationships with adult partners in the suspected Socorro cult in Surigao del Norte, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday.

"They have been living together as husband and wife, but they are not married," Remulla said, adding that whatever marriage the Socorro group sanctioned would be illegal.

The 19 children are standing as witnesses against the leader and members of the group and are "safe and doing well," the chief of the Department of Justice said.

Alleged Socorro leader Jey Rence B. Quilario and 12 members of the alleged cult are facing criminal complaints, including human trafficking, filed by the National Bureau of Investigation before the DoJ.