Authorities rescue kidnap victim; woman abused by partner seeks help

On International Women’s Month, two disturbing tales of violence against women have been brought to the attention of authorities.

In one case, a woman who, for nine months, endured physical and verbal abuse at the hands of her partner finally mustered the courage to sneak out of his condominium in Makati City and seek the help of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

The other one involved a woman who was rescued by policemen from the men who kidnapped her last week. Her captor was arrested after he received the P500,000 ransom given by the victim’s relatives.

The first woman whose identity was withheld filed a complaint with the Makati police Sunday morning. She was accompanied by Human Rights Commissioner Cecilia Quisimbing, who said she admired the victim’s bravery.

“What we want to highlight is that these cases continue to happen,” Quisimbing told the Inquirer on the phone. “This shows the shortcomings of the system.”

Quisimbing said the victim had sought refuge from friends who contacted her for assistance.

Throughout their nine-month relationship, the woman was subjected to various kinds of abuse, according to Quisimbing, who spoke with the victim. At first, the abuse was verbal in nature.

Later on, the man started hitting the victim, who still bore signs of the treatment she received at his hands.

“Once, her partner stabbed her in the neck but the woman said she wasn’t badly hurt because the knife wasn’t sharp,” Quisimbing said. “I told her, ‘My goodness, he still stabbed you.’”

On the other hand, the kidnap victim who was rescued by operatives of the Southern Police District on Saturday said that her captors apparently targeted relatives of inmates at New Bilibid Prison.

Speaking to the Inquirer from a safe house in Metro Manila, Amina Mangondatu—the partner of NBP inmate Romeo Tan—said that she was taken by several men who had introduced themselves as policemen from her house in Muntinlupa City the day before.

From P3 million, the men agreed to lower the amount to P500,000 during negotiations with her relatives who, unknown to her captors, had asked the police for help.

One of the kidnappers, Lemuel Puson, was arrested on Saturday after he picked up the ransom in Cubao, Quezon City.