2 Sibugay cops tagged in alleged gang rape of teenager

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Two Zamboanga Sibugay policemen and a civilian have been arrested for allegedly drugging an 18-year old girl and repeatedly raping her for at least two days before she escaped and complained to the police.

Chief Superintendent Edgar Basbas, Western Mindanao police director, told the Inquirer in an interview here that Police Officer 1 Videri Omar Ali-Gani of the Siay police station, P01 Jul Kaiser Hayudini Sali of the Malangas police station, and a Momar Furuc were now in jail following their arrest last Wednesday, the same day the girl filed a complaint against them.

“We have ordered the arrest of two of our police personnel in Sibugay,” Basbas said.

He said the two police officers and the civilian have already been charged in the Zamboanga Sibugay prosecutor’s office in the provincial capital of Ipil with rape, serious illegal detention, qualified human trafficking and violation of the anti-illegal drug law.

“They also tested positive for drugs,” Basbas said.

Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo of the Western Mindanao police’s logistics office, said two others—Rizal Abualas and Lynjie Tenorio—were being hunted for their  involvement in the same crimes and would face the same charges.

Basbas acknowledged that the arrests were made without a formal warrants issued by a court, but none was needed, according to him.

“They were arrested on the basis of the victim’s complaint,” he said. “The victim pointed to them and they were arrested during hot pursuit.”

The five men, De Ocampo said, were named by the 18-year-old college student as the same men who raped her and made her take shabu. She said they held her since September 8 and took turns sexually abusing her.

The woman managed to escape Wednesday morning and reported her ordeal to the Ipil police, Basbas said, adding that a manhunt was immediately launched for the alleged rapists.

According to the woman, she met Ali-Gani on Monday and she was coaxed to join him and the other suspects in a boarding house.

“There, she was forced to take drugs and while high on drugs she was raped,” said the Ipil police’s investigation report.

Basbas said the policemen tagged by the alleged victim had been declared on “automatic leave” so the police would have reason to hold their salaries.

Basbas said he also directed the chiefs of police of Siay and Malangas to explain why the two police officers were in Ipil when they were supposed to be on duty in their respective towns.