What is sad is that this group – under a different but similar name – still exists. They claim it is for fun and for the open-minded only. Facebook will send legitimate Facebook pages warnings for anything demeaning, yet these kinds of pages are allowed to steal the privacy away from young girls. There are hundreds of FB private groups, exactly like Pastor Hokage, globally. Good job, Facebook (sarcasm). This article was originally posted in late 2017, but is still relevant today, especially in the Philippines. If you have a teenaged son, ask him if he is a member of one of these groups.
A Glimpse Of “Bible Study” In Facebook’s Inferno
“Bible Study of Pastor Hokage” — in the ears of some, it may sound like there’s nothing offensive when they first encounter this phrase. But for Filipinos, particularly the millennials who have been the habitants of Facebook, reading it once will be enough to understand there’s something cringe-worthy about it.
It’s not a faith-based group. It may have a religious undertone but it’s not even remotely religious. “Bible Study of Pastor Hokage” is one of the growing number of Facebook groups created by Filipinos where members disgustingly harass women online. If you do a Facebook search with the keyword “hokage,” you’ll come across a handful of groups that make sexual harassment an everyday leisure. Collectively, there has been nearly a hundred of these filthy groups that keep coming back after being reported for explicit content.
Pastor Hokage’s Rise to Veneration
I first learned of these horrifying Facebook groups last year being a member of a mom club. One of the mothers discovered these “Bible Study” groups sprouting like mushrooms and asked for help to report the pervert hubs. Since then, I knew it existed but I didn’t know for how long it has been operating to help filthy perverts get over their carnal desires.
Caption (translation): “This is how our secret group started: at first, we only have a few selected members then one day, I woke up and we had one million members (laughs) then after three months, people reported our page. That’s when fake (Bible Study) groups came out claiming they’re the original hokage. A lot of them may be have copied us but most of them are just consisted of women posting their own photos for the sake of likes. They seemed to forget the concept of “Bible Study of Pastor Hokage” (laughs) Long live and thank you for all the legitimate members. Can I get an amen?”
Caption: “Here’s my offering, brothers and sisters in faith”
Pastor Hokage’s Bible Study group was the most famous of them all and after its existence made the rounds online, it became finally suspended (again). The group boasted nearly two million members, calling themselves “pastor” and “pastora,” and they even have a selected group of women called “Pastor Hokage Babes.” The members varied in terms of gender and even had a slew of women consensually posting racy pictures of themselves as men ravenously feast on their sexuality.
There was never really an individual named Pastor Hokage. The name of the so-called religious leader can be attributed to a Japanese anime series, particularly Naruto, which Filipinos have loved for a long time. A hokage can be described as the highest and strongest ninja and this term has been recently adopted into the local modern parlance. It can mean different things but to contextualize it, a hokage can be likened to the westerners’ perception of Mick Jagger.
So, to say you’re a hokage means you’re quick and highly tactical — more like an adept ninja — in a particular thing, especially in women and sex. In a western context, it’s like you’re moving like a quick-acting, sexually enticing individual. But in the case of the group administrators running these “Bible Studies,” they are nothing short of vile and revolting.
Pastor Hokage’s Road to Hell
Being one of the most active Facebook users worldwide, it’s easy for Filipinos to make something famous by a few touches of the fingertip. But in the same number of clicks, Pastor Hokage and other similar groups found its near destruction after a woman posted her experience with the distasteful group of sexual oppressors.
Ms. C from Makati City, received messages from unknown people asking how much she’s worth for getting down on bed. Handful of men asked her until a friend revealed that her picture was unknowingly posted in one of the scum Facebook groups. A certain Tenzen Xiao apparently posted the innocent woman’s photos in the group where he claimed that Ms. C needs “help.” The post was followed by a series of description like her age, location and even described her being “fresh.” She had a price tag worth PhP 5,000 (nearly USD $100) for two pops.
Caption (translated): “Fellow pastors, let’s help her. Newly graduate. Fresh. 22 years old. PhP 5,000 for two pops. Makati City.”
Appalled, Ms. C took her disgust to Facebook and expressed how she felt deeply harassed by the people that made up the entire “Bible Study” group. She posted the messages sent to her, including the original post found in the group. It quickly garnered thousands of likes and shares until Facebook took it down. On June 30, she posted another proof of her being harassed and said her post was taken down by Facebook after the “Bible Study” group members reported her post to prevent further spreading.
Mainstream media slowly started to pick up the news, until yesterday, one of the biggest network newscasts in the Philippines reported the existence of the vile Facebook groups.
They Still Fervently Prey
Caption (translated): “I made a new group. No hard-headed members allowed, no rule-breakers, I need people who constantly offer. Don’t message me privately. Reply here if you think you’re worthy of becoming a warrior. The admins will invite you to the group.”
The group members spare no one. According to a secret investigator from an anti-harassment group on Facebook, “Bible Study” groups foster sexual depravity among average Filipinas of all age — and even children. These men and women heartlessly marvel at child pornography like there’s nothing morally wrong with what they’re doing.
Celebrity porn isn’t really an in-demand novelty in the groups. They post photos of innocent young women because they seek someone rarer than a public entity. These so-called pastors of sexual oppression seek for ordinary Filipinas and their dignities were sold unknowingly sold like hotcakes. Pastors post their pictures, whether they’re dressed provocatively or decently, and jerk on these women like they have no wives, sisters or mothers.
Revenge porn is also a thing for the group members. Through their “Bible Study” group chats, they post photos of the women they once admired, loved and made love to. They do this to get even because they either got dumped or they have broken up with them.
Suburbia Of Perverts Behind Screens
While we cannot dismiss the fact that these virtual perverts are growing uncontrollably, those on the street remain a persistent problem in the country. Nonetheless, the rate of Philippines having these kinds of men, collectively, raises the alarm especially to parents who have young girls. With this, it proves that there is no safe haven for young people, even if they remain constricted within the corners of their homes. If they have a photo online — no matter how innocent it is — there is a chance that it will end up somewhere, being feasted upon by thirsty people who feels no apparent disgust with what they do. Sure, there are laws to inhibit such lewd acts but it seems they aren’t strong enough to halt the perverts from their habits, especially when they’re hiding behind their screens.
One of the laws they can be held accountable for is the Cybercrime Prevention Act wherein, as stated in the decree, contents related to cybersex and child pornography are punishable by law. To further define cybersex, the law says it’s “the willful engagement, maintenance, control, or operation, directly or indirectly, of any lascivious exhibition of sexual organs or sexual activity, with the aid of a computer system, for favor or consideration.”
These people behind “Bible Study” groups hide behind fake faces and persistently make poser Facebook accounts to escape their responsibility when things go wrong. But some people are just plain thick-skinned. They boast loud and proud that they’re a member of these horrendous groups.
They’re brave because they do it online. Laws in the Philippines regarding these kinds of malicious degradation has not yet been fully utilized because sadly, it’s been customary in the country to just keep mum when a man harasses a woman. But it’s not too late to rise against this kind of sexual oppression.
Maybe it’s time to teach our girls to speak up when they get sexually attacked. Conversely, let’s teach our boys too — and let’s start with instilling values that promote equality and deference. It’s about DAMN time that we teach young men to be respectful as much as we teach young women of how to become feminists.
For those with us, let’s keep on reporting these abhorrent groups. They don’t stop, sure, but let’s show them they’ve taken their own devils with them, and not salvation. Let’s stop them. Let’s keep them accountable. Let’s jail them, if possible.
