Teen girl abused by own father rescued

Authorities conducting a drug operation ended up rescuing an 18-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually abused and impregnated by her own father.

Ana (not her real name) and her one-year-old son were brought to the Department of Social Welfare and Development where they will undergo counseling.

Her father, Jose (not his real name), eluded arrest after a shootout with the police while his companion, Ruben Libato, surrendered to pursuing policemen Tuesday evening in Moalboal town, southern Cebu.

Supt. Rodolfo Albotra Jr., chief of the Provincial Intelligence Branch, said Jose and Libato were armed with .45 caliber pistols.

Albotra said Jose used his house near the beach where he lives with his daughter as a drug den.

Jose and Libato can dispose at least 10 grams of shabu per week. Five small sachets, one large pack of suspected shabu, P200 cash and drug paraphernalia were found in Jose’s house.

Libato admitted to the media that he sells drugs for a living.

Ana, in an interview, said she knows about her father’s illegal activities but she did not have the courage to report to the police as her father threatened to kill her if she does.

Teary-eyed Ana said she grew up in Bohol with her grandparents until they died when she was 16.

She said her father promised to take care of her and send her to school if she lives with him in Moalboal.

After a month in Moalboal, she was raped by her own father and as a result, she got pregnant at the age of 17.

Ana has never met her mother. Her father has a live-in partner in Moalboal who also has knowledge about his illegal drug activities.

Ana hopes his father will be arrested soon.

Albotra said Jose is also a suspected gun-for-hire and has a pending case of rape in the town.  /Correspondent Christine Emily L. Pantaleon