SPD man in ‘rape’ no-show at NBI; lawyer says client still doing ‘paperwork’

MANILA, Philippines–The Southern Police District (SPD) official being accused of raping a nightclub model did not show up at the National Bureau of Investigation on Monday and only sent a lawyer in response to the NBI subpoena.

In the absence of any formal reply from Supt. Erwin Emelo, the NBI is expected to proceed this week with the filing of charges against him for rape and human trafficking, according to supervising agent Alan Tubi, the officer on the case.

“He did not appear before us or submit a counter-affidavit, so we will be constrained to resolve the case based on what we know,” Tubi told the Inquirer, referring to the officer who was recently relieved of his post as chief of the SPD Special Operations Unit.

Emelo’s lawyer only manifested his appearance for the suspect and said his client was still “processing paperwork” at the SPD, Tubi added.

According to Tubi, the NBI is still interviewing other possible witnesses against Emelo, who was accused by “Leila,” an employee of a Pasay City bar, of raping her inside his SPD quarters hours after he and his men raided the establishment in the early morning of Oct. 23.

“Within the week, we hope to finish the investigation and file the charges against Emelo in the Office of the Ombudsman. It will be based on the other statements we are obtaining,” the NBI agent said.

He explained that Emelo would still be given an opportunity to reply to the complaints once the Ombudsman starts its own preliminary investigation.–Nathaniel R. Melican