MANILA: A habal-habal (informal motorcycle taxi) driver was arrested for the alleged rape of an 11-year-old girl in Cebu, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said on Tuesday (March 10).
After receiving information from the Philippine Coast Guard that the suspect was en route by boat to Manila, the police intercepted the suspect in Pier 4 in Tondo, Manila, CIDG National Capital Region (NCR) Chief Col. John Guiagui told reporters in Camp Crame.
The suspect, 37, had supposedly lured the girl with P200 to come with him to a grassy area in Barangay Calunasan, Cebu City, last Saturday, then he allegedly raped her.
He had purportedly offered the girl pieces of money between P50 and P200 on three other different occasions beforehand, but she could no longer remember when he began giving her the cash, according to Guiagui.
“He made an effort to get closer to the 11-year-old,” the CIDG NCR chief said in Filipino.
After the alleged rape, the suspect was driving the girl back to her home when they encountered a police checkpoint in the same barangay.
“He was scared. He let the child go. He had her taken home by other drivers,” Guiagui explained in Filipino.
Upon being brought home, the girl complained that her private part was bleeding, prompting her to report the incident and seek medical treatment at a local hospital.
According to the CIDG NCR chief, the suspect had retreated to his father’s home in southern Cebu. His father then gave him P6,000 to flee to Manila.
Afterward, the suspect supposedly took a boat from Cebu to Iloilo, then to Bacolod, and finally to Manila, where police operatives were awaiting.
The arrested suspect was taken into CIDG’s custody, awaiting turnover to the Cebu City Police Office and charges for violation of Republic Act No. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
Meanwhile, Guiagui noted that the police were exploring whether the suspect’s father could be charged for giving the suspect P6,000 to evade arrest. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
