PNP: Nueva Ecija cop held over alleged statutory rape

MANILA, Philippines — A patrolman assigned to the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office 1st Mobile Force Company was placed under restrictive custody over the alleged statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday. In a press briefing in Quezon City, PNP senior police assistant to the National Police Commission (Napolcom) Col. Marlon Santos said police filed a case for statutory rape against the patrolman before the prosecutor’s office on July 1. “As of now, this patrolman… has been relieved from his post. His issued firearm has been confiscated, and he is currently under restrictive custody at the Police Regional Office 3 camp,” Santos explained in Filipino. READ: Trader sues 3 Bulacan cops for wrongful arrest Before the press briefing, the victim’s legal guardian, identified only by the alias “Inday,” filed an administrative complaint with Napolcom at its Quezon City office on Wednesday. “He manipulated my niece. He promised her whatever, courted her, and told her he was single. It turned out that he had a wife and a child,” Inday said in Filipino at the press briefing. According to Inday, the victim met the patrolman while she was working at an establishment last April and met up with him several times between May and June. Inday learned of the alleged relationship on June 23, prompting her to seek assistance. Napolcom Commissioner Rafael Calinisan said the agency preventively suspended the patrolman to ensure an impartial investigation. “I felt sad. I felt disgusted a while ago seeing a 14-year-old being subjected to all of this by a policeman. The police should be the ones guarding us, but he was the one who took advantage of us,” Calinisan said. “So, we will show him the gravity of the law and the gravity of his offense,” he added. — With reports by Rendell Ivan Manuel, INQUIRER.net trainee /mcm