Travel ban issued vs mayor in rape

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines—A judge here has stopped a Zambales town mayor charged with child abuse and trafficking from leaving the country after lawyers of his accuser sought the issuance of a hold departure order against him.

In an order on May 18, Judge Norman Pamintuan of the Regional Trial Court Branch 73 said the invitation to San Marcelino Mayor Jose Rodriguez as guest and speaker in a May 28 dinner and dance event in Lemon Grove, California, is “sufficient to establish the probability that [Rodriguez] will leave the country.”

Pamintuan, quoting a Supreme Court decision, said Rodriguez’s constitutional right to travel was not being violated because “holding an accused in a criminal case within reach of the courts by preventing his departure from the Philippines must be considered as a valid restriction on his right to travel so that he may be dealt with in accordance with the law.”

Pamintuan also ordered that a copy of the travel ban be sent to the Bureau of Immigration.

Earlier, Joy Bayona, associate provincial prosecutor, filed an urgent motion for the issuance of a hold departure order against Rodriguez to prevent him from leaving the country and ensure that he would face the charges filed against him by a 12-year-old girl.

She noted Rodriguez’s apparent disinterest in attending court hearings.

A source at the Olongapo City Hall of Justice cited an incident in April when Rodriguez chose to attend an event in Boracay instead of attending a scheduled hearing.

“Now, he wants to go to the United States to a dinner dance instead of answering the charges against him,” said the source, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak to reporters.

In January, Rodriguez was arraigned in the sala of Judge Richard Paradeza of RTC Branch 72 and pleaded innocent to the charge of violation of the Anti-Child Abuse Act (Republic Act No. 7610).

Bayona filed an amended charge against Rodriguez after Paradeza dismissed the trafficking charges under Section 4 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (RA 9208). In her amended charge, Bayona cited Section 11 of RA 9208 for “use of trafficked persons.”

Rodriguez had posted bail. In an earlier statement, he denied the charges and said the case filed by the girl and her mother was meant to destroy his reputation and cause “political turmoil” in the town.

Rodriguez said he was on his way to Manila on Sept. 12 last year, the day he supposedly raped the girl.

Bayona also sued Jonie Ponce, also known as “Jodie,” for bringing the girl to the mayor’s rest house in San Marcelino where the alleged rape took place. Ponce is facing charges of violating RA 9208 and RA 7610.

Maria Rosario Cesa, Rodriguez’s lawyer, said it was impossible for the mayor to be present in every court hearing because as an elected official, he needs to attend to his responsibilities in running the affairs of his town.