The notorious rape of one university student involving the kin of influencial Montawal clan in adjacent Datu Montawal municipality in Maguindanao also took place in one lodging house in Kabacan in 2008.
By Danilda L. Fusilero
DAVAO TODAY
KIDPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato – Two students, both below 18 years old, were allegedly gang-raped by five male suspects in Kabacan town some time after midnight on Friday (October 19), the local police here reported.
According to Kabacan Police Superintendent Leo Ajero, the victims said they were invited by the suspects to a party in a boarding house here in Kabacan town, where the alleged crime took place.
“Maybe kakilala nila kaya sila naimbitahan (They might have known the person who invited them.),” said Ajero. He added the girls were able to escape but were still in shock when they arrived at the police station after the incident. The victims will undergo a medico-legal procedure sometime today, Ajero said.
The police officer, however, declined to divulge the identities of the victims, in observance of pertinent laws protecting victims of sexual abuses and minors. Names of the five apprehended suspects were also withheld pending the conclusion of the inquest procedure. Ajero said drug-related paraphernalia were recovered from the crime scene.
Ajero assured the public of a thorough investigation of the case, including the possible questioning of the owner of the boarding house. “Boarding houses should enforce policies and regulations to protect these students, especially minors,” said Ajero.
The notorious rape of one university student involving the kin of influencial Montawal clan in adjacent Datu Montawal municipality in Maguindanao also took place in one lodging house in Kabacan in 2008.
The case gained publicity after women and Moro rights groups backed the victim’s quest for justice. Two main suspects, including the accused rapist Andy Montawal remain at large. At the time the alleged crime occurred, Andy represented the Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC) in the municipal council while his father served as mayor.
Human trafficking
In another development, some 71 women from the provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao, believed to be victims of human trafficking, were rescued by local authorities in Agusan del Sur October 18, an inter-provincial news feed to a local radio station here reported.
The North Cotabato provincial government confirmed that 11 of the 71 rescued women were from this province, particularly from the towns of Pigcawayan, Kidapawan City, Kabacan; three from Midsayap; and five from Pikit – all in North Cotabato. Of those, seven are said to be minors.
Riding three public utility jeepneys, the convoy was reportedly held in a checkpoint along the national highway of Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. The victims were allegedly recruited to work abroad but the failure of the recruiter to present pertinent documents prompted the Agusan police authorities suspect that it was a case of human trafficking and arrested the recruiter.
The victims are now under the custody of the regional Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Butuan City, awaiting results of the coordination made to the provincial local governments of Maguindanao and North Cotabato. (Danilda L. Fusilero/ davaotoday.com)
