‘Isabel’ wants Cebu fiscals to prosecute rape case

The 21-year-old woman who claimed she was sexually abused by a marshal of the justice department’s Witness Protection Program (WPP) decried moves to inhibit Cebu prosecutors from the case.

“Prosecutors outside Cebu don’t have any idea as to what is happening here,” she told reporters in Cebuano yesterday.

Isabel (not her real name) said she intends to file an opposition to the motion for inhibition filed by rape suspect Romelo Pabroa before the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office.

She said she was hurt by insinuations that she’s just fabricating stories against Pabroa.

“Nganong maka-ingon man sila nga nagbuhat-buhat lang ko og storya nga wala man dila didto? Wala na ko mahadlok ron. Mangayo ko’g hustisya. (Why do some people say that I’m just fabricating stories when they were not even there when I was raped? I’m no longer afraid. I will continue to seek justice),” Isabel said.

Isabel said she will file a case against Assistant Regional Prosecutor Llena Ipong-Avila for allegedly trying to protect Pabroa. Ipong-Avila is the program implementor of the WPP in Central Visayas.

“I’m hurt when people consider me crazy. If I’m crazy, I shouldn’t have been talking to you now,” Isabel said. She earlier filed a rape case against Pabroa for allegedly abusing her when she was under WPP custody.

Last Thursday, Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon granted Pabroa’s motion through his lawyer Noel Archival to inhibit all Cebu prosecutors from the case. Archival said they want to avoid branding the prosecutors from being perceived as biased.

In a resolution, Sellon said he has no objection to the motion, saying this will dispel any doubt of bias or partiality in the conduct of the preliminary investigation.

The city prosecutor’s decision is subject for approval by Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane. Archival however, clarified that despite their motion, they still want the legal proceedings to be held in Cebu. “Let’s have the hearings in Cebu. The parties don’t have to travel to another place. Hence, we’ll have the same fare,” Archival said.

Archival urged the public not to prejudge his client. “There’s a distinction between filing a case and finding probable cause. Rape is hard to prove and hard to defend,” he said.