Another UPLB student raped on almost same spot where Given Grace was killed
LOS BAÑOS, Laguna, Philippines—Another female student of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) was raped almost on the same spot where UPLB student Given Grace Cebanico was raped and killed almost at the same time three years ago.
Dr. Enrique Tolentino Jr., the UPLB Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs, confirmed on Thursday, that the rape of a 17-year-old female college student has been reported to the police, but he requested that all information regarding the identity of the victim be withheld.
The victim, now in the care of the Los Baños police, “is still suffering from trauma,” Tolentino said.
Supt. Ricardo Dalmacia, Los Baños police chief, declined to give details “as requested by the family” but gave an assurance that police investigation has started.
University of the Philippines Los Baños campus. PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK.COM
Tolentino said probers have learned that the victim left the UPLB campus, after attending a student event, around 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
The victim took a tricycle in Barangay (village) Maahas, an adjacent village to the campus, in going home to Barangay Paciano Rizal, also referred to as Barangay Mainit.
Ronald Oñate, barangay chief of Putho-Tuntungin, said the victim was able to send her mother a text message around 11 p.m. that she was already in Sitio Buot of Mainit.
But before reaching her residence, the tricycle driver stopped in the guise of running out gasoline, both Oñate and Tolentino said in separate phone interviews.
“The driver even asked her to pay him the fare,” Tolentino said.
The driver then took the victim to a dim portion along the IPB Road, also in Putho-Tuntungin, with a weapon held against her. It was still unclear what kind of weapon was used.
“It happened almost on the same spot where Given (was assaulted),” Oñate said.
The driver left the victim, who was later found “walking” by a UPLB security guard, Tolentino said.
University officials were closely working with the local police and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon region) to solve the case.
Oñate said they were tracing the color of the tricycle to see if it belonged to any drivers’ association here.
“There’s a witness who said that only one tricycle passed by that way around that time (of the rape),” Oñate said.
On Oct. 11, 2011, Cebanico, a 19-year-old junior Computer Science student, was raped and killed, prompting unrest in the university and local community. A group of UPLB students, in fact, had just commemorated Cebanico’s third death anniversary.
Tricycle driver Percival de Guzman, who reportedly picked up Cebanico on the night she went missing, and bank security guard Lester Ivan Lopez were arrested for the rape and murder of Cebanico’. The court trial is still ongoing.
“After Given’s (death), lamp posts were immediately put up along that (IPB) road. I just don’t know what happened why the lights were gone (in recent months). That place had always been our problem because it was really dark at night,” Oñate said.
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