An American pastor was arrested for allegedly abusing 156 children who complained they were starved and chained like dogs at his orphanage in the Philippines.

Jeremy Ferguson, 48, was detained over suspected child abuse and other violations at the care facility in Pampanga province, around two hours north of the capital Manila.

Police and social workers stormed the New Life Baptist Church of Mexico to arrest the missionary late Wednesday evening.

The raid came following a regular quarterly visit to the government-authorised orphanage, during which several children alleged they were being beaten by the caregivers.

Rex Gatchalian, Social Welfare and Development Secretary, said: 'They claimed they were being hurt by the house parent and the pastor. We sent social workers, who conducted a focused group discussion with the children, and we really validated and verified that they were indeed being harmed.

'The various stories of abuse ranged from being chained, forced to kneel on gravel or salt mixed with pebbles, beaten with a wooden stick or PVC pipe, locked in the toilet, or deprived of food.'

Authorities said 78 boys and 78 girls were rescued and now undergoing counseling. Social workers were reviewing their profiles to send them to different care centres.

Jeremy has denied the allegations, saying neither he nor his staff had committed abuse.

Speaking on Thursday in a mix of English and the local Tagalog dialect, he said: 'The police took the children and explained to us that the purpose was there were many complaints. The number one is physical abuse, and there were others like padlocks and combat wires on the fence.

'They said the children were being beaten, tied up, forced to kneel. I've never done or will do anything like that. I never taught my staff to do those kinds of disciplinary actions.

'There are many children there who are incredibly stubborn, and what we do is talk to them, sometimes scold them if they are really hard-headed. We also have a time-out and isolation room where they are separated if we can't control them. But we never did all those things they said.'

Jeremy added he also hired licensed social workers to assist the caregivers in disciplining the children.

The emotional pastor then raised his cuffed hands and said: 'In the eight years of our orphanage, we have helped more than 300 children. One hundred and fifty plus have been given homes when they have a positive evaluation, with a discharge conference with a social worker. No one is detained.

'I am just saddened by the accusations personally, because as a missionary, a large part of my mission in the Philippines, we felt pity for the children on the streets, the squatters. We made a lot of effort and they repaid us by accusing as criminals.'

In a statement, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said Jeremy was accused of physical, verbal, and psychological abuse as well as mismanagement of funds, improper case management, presence of fire hazards, and failing to copmly with the department's accreditation standards.

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said: 'We will be filing criminal cases against Pastor Ferguson based on the complaints of children who have experienced physical, verbal, and psychological abuse while under his custody. We will also be requesting the Bureau of Immigration to issue a Hold Departure Order on Mr. Ferguson to make sure that he will face his criminal cases in court.

'The DSWD strongly condemns any act of abuse against children and reaffirms its commitment to protect their rights and ensure their welfare.'