Flight attendant’s family calls for review of PH anti-rape law

MANILA, Philippines — The family of Christine Angelica Dacera, a flight attendant who was found dead in a bathtub after a night of partying in a hotel, has appealed for a review of the country’s Anti-Rape Law of 1997 as they pursue justice for their loved one who they believe was a victim of sexual assault.

Family lawyer Brick Reyes said at the sidelines of Wednesday’s preliminary investigation on the alleged rape-slay of Dacera that “(t)here is a need for us to study the possibility of amending the [anti-rape] law.”

“We would like to include the use of drugs as a ground for establishing probable cause because I think there are many victims of illegal drugs that hesitate in filing complaints,” he noted in mixed Filipino and English.

“We want to protect the women of the Philippines and so we should work on passing laws that would protect them,” he added.

Despite a lack of medical findings, Dacera’s family still believes that the flight attendant was made to use narcotics “against her will,” and that the victim was raped before she was found dead in the bathtub.

READ: Dacera rape-slay ‘solved,’ says PNP; not yet, says CHR

Meanwhile, Dacera case respondents Rommel Galido and JP Dela Serna said the Makati City police pressured them into indicating in their affidavits the presence of illegal drugs during the party.

KGA