MANILA, Philippines—The policeman charged with raping a vendor inside the headquarters of the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters last year was picked up by authorities on Tuesday night after he failed to attend the hearings on his case for several weeks.
Police Officer 3 Antonio Bautista Jr. was arrested by members of the Manila City Hall Public Assistance (Chapa) police in his hideout on Amaloy Street in Masambong, Quezon City, Chapa commander Chief Inspector Marcelo Tesoro Reyes said in a report.
A vendor claimed that Bautista raped her on December 31 last year inside the Integrity Task Force office of the MPD headquarters on United Nations Avenue.
She said that the policeman had arrested her on a charge of vagrancy while she was waiting for her live-in partner in Sta. Cruz, Manila.
She added that she was taken to the MPD headquarters where Bautista raped her and then took her wallet, which contained P4,000 in cash.
The policeman went into hiding after learning that the vendor had filed rape and robbery charges against him. He gave himself up to the National Bureau of Investigation on January 14 after a reward was put up for his capture.
On March 30, Judge Marivic Balisi Umali of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 20 issued a warrant for his arrest.
But in a letter addressed to Mayor Alfredo Lim on May 16, the alleged rape victim said that “while my complaint was being processed, [Bautista] left the custody of the NBI and his whereabouts have been unknown. He has not been showing up in the court where my complaint is being heard.”
She and Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta asked Lim for his help in finding and arresting Bautista.
That same day, Umali also junked the petition filed by Bautista’s lawyer to dismiss the charges against his client. The policeman’s arraignment was also rescheduled.
On May 17, Lim ordered a manhunt for Bautista. At around 5 p.m., Bautista’s friend, Rey Tuliao, later approached Reyes and informed him of the policeman’s whereabouts.
Two hours later, the Chapa police arrested Bautista while he was drinking with friends in front of a house in Quezon City.
Recovered from him were a nine-inch-long fan knife, and a cell phone which allegedly contained messages showing Bautista’s plans to assassinate Lim, Reyes said.
He added that Bautista was taken to the Manila City Jail. Charges of concealing a deadly weapon will be filed against him while he will also be questioned about the text messages found in his cell phone.
Bautista, through his counsel, has denied the rape charges against him.