Engineer charged for allegedly raping woman in Palawan quarantine facility

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY –– A 26-year-old local engineer is facing a criminal charge after he allegedly raped a female victim, who was still under quarantine in Agutaya town in Palawan province, last week, police said Tuesday.

Agutaya Mayor Perla Bacuel, in a phone interview, said the suspect was drunk when he broke into the town’s facility on Dec. 16, where the female victim was spending her mandatory quarantine period.

The victim is an allowed person outside residence (APOR), who was recently reassigned in the island municipality of Agutaya from another town.

“According to my staff, the suspect was drunk. He was able to enter the quarantine facility where the victim was. She was there only for a couple of days for quarantine,” Bacuel said. The mayor did not name the suspect.

The suspect, a resident of Barangay Villa Fria in Agutaya, who was also believed to be a contractor of a power supply company, is expected to undergo an inquest proceeding in the coming days. He is now being transferred to Puerto Princesa.

“We already started the prosecution,” Bacuel said.

Meanwhile, the victim is also set to arrive in the city on Tuesday aboard a helicopter after the family sought assistance from Gov. Jose Alvarez.

“The victim is en route to Puerto Princesa today, Dec. 22, aboard a chopper. We rented a boat for the suspect,” Bacuel added.

LZB