Former Leyte exec in rape case nabbed, freed after posting P100,000 bail

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines — A former provincial board member has been arrested to face charges for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl several times in 2007 and 2008 in Tacloban.

Enrico Albao, 45, was nabbed on Monday then released on Wednesday after he posted bail of P100,000 before the Regional Trial Court in Tacloban.

Albao was an ex-officio provincial board member in his capacity as provincial president of the Association of Barangay Chairmen in Leyte from 2002 to 2005.

He is facing 10 counts of rape for allegedly molesting a 17-year-old girl on November 6, 12 and 29 and in December 2007 and on January 16, 2008 in Tacloban.

Albao denied the allegations against him saying he was a “victim of politics.” He declined to elaborate.

Albao did not resist when arrested by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas (CIDG-8) about 10 a.m. outside his house in Barangay Libas, Burauen town, about 55 kilometers south of this city.

The CIDG-8 members were armed with an arrest warrant issued by Judge Alphinor Serrano of RTC Branch 6 in Tacloban on January 24 for the rape case.

The court initially set the bail at P200,000 but it was reduced to P100,000 after the prosecution didn’t oppose Albao’s motion to reduce bail.

Records showed that the girl accused Albao of raping her on separate occasions in a hotel in Tacloban.

The minor, who was said to be a daughter of a relative of Albao, claimed that Albao offered her a ride to Tacloban City, where she was studying in a state university, on Nov. 6, 2007.

Instead of bringing her to her boarding house, Albao allegedly brought her to a hotel where she was raped.

She was raped again on Nov. 12 and 29, 2006 and in December 2007 and on January 16, 2008. At one point, the former board member allegedly promised to marry her. Albao was said to be estranged from his wife.

Albao was charged with rape before the Tacloban City Prosecutor’s Office on Feb. 25, 2008 but it was dismissed due to lack of probable cause.

The family of victim elevated the case before the Department of Justice, which ruled in favor of the victim.

In his decision on October 7, 2011, DoJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III ruled that a minor, defined under the law as somebody below 18 years of age, would be “incapable of giving rational consent to any lasciviousness act or sexual intercourse.”