ITOGON, Benguet – Combined police operatives of the Itogon Municipal Station and the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) are now conducting a massive manhunt operations against the remaining three still unidentified suspects who were involved in the alleged abduction and gang rape of a 26-year old waitress from Pozorubbio, Paangasinan from May 23 to 28 in a house at Tuding here.
Police officials disclosed the two civilians and two police officers who were earlier successively arrested for allegedly being part of the 7-man group that abducted and gang raped the single parent already signed their respective waivers of detention at the Itogon municipal jail to allow the immediate resolution of the case now pending before the provincial prosecutor’s office.
Earlier, sources revealed based on the victim’s medical certificate from the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), she did not sustain any external physical and vaginal injuries as a result of the alleged gang rape for several days and that the drug tests on the arrested suspects also turned out negative contradicting the victim’s allegations that one of the suspects allegedly used shabu before taking advantage of her.
Based on the victim’s sworn statement, she was waiting for a ride in Mines View at around 5:30 pm of May 23 when a gray van stopped in front of her with some of the suspects on board and who forced her inside the vehicle.
She was then reportedly brought to a house in nearby Tuding and was placed inside a room without windows where she was repeatedly ganged rape by the suspects.
According to her statement, the victim was only brought to her boyfriend’s house in Mines View only in the afternoon of May 28 and was threatened not to report the incident to the authorities but she immediately decided to report the incident to the police amidst such threats.
Concerned police officials appealed to the public not to immediately judge the arrested suspects based on the allegations of the victim considering that there must be an indepth investigation on the incident and allow the courts to rule whether or not the suspects are really guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Police cited the suspects must also be allowed to present their statements to the public through all forms of media to allow the people to be able to intelligently conclude on whether or not there was really abduction and gang rape in the said incident.
The Benguet provincial prosecutor’s office is set to resolve the cases filed against the arrested suspects within the next ten days based on the pieces of evidences that will be submitted by concerned parties for the evaluation and assessment of the assigned prosecutor.
Police operatives are appealing to whoever knowns the whereabouts of the remaining suspects to immediately provide the necessary information to probers to allow them to effect their arrest and allow them to also air their side and sentiments on the cases being alleged against them by the victim.
Initially, the four arrested suspects decline to be interviewed by the media considering that they will simply submit their respective counter-affidavits to the provincial prosecutor’s office for evaluation and decision whether or not there is probable cause for the elevation of their case with the proper courts. By Dexter A. See
