A heinous act

The kidnapping and rape of a 31-year-old woman, married to a German national, rescued from a hotel in San Carlos City last Wednesday must have presented the NBI branch members one of the most heinous crimes committed against a human being.

Actually, reports quoting NBI head Ferdinand Lavin said, the woman narrated to them a harrowing tale of how for the past two years she was repeatedly abducted, and raped by her previous suitor. But she told authorities that she was afraid that her tormentor, Gilbert Escuadro, 34, of San Carlos City, would kill members of her family.

Since Wednesday, July 18, she said Escuadro held her captive and raped her twice daily.

She said she was also choked, beaten up and subjected to other manhandling which are shown by bruises on her arms and body.

Actually, it was an employee of the woman who reported the incident to the NBI.

But the NBI took two days to evaluate the report to show that it was not a domestic violence before acting on the report.

Tuesday, Escuadro transferred his victim to the Skyland Hotel in San Carlos from where she had previously been held a captive. The previous place was guarded by “goons” of Escuadro who were armed with .45 caliber pistols and long firearms, the reports said.

Although they were neighbors, Escuadro reportedly was rejected by her when he was courting her. She later married a German national, now 42 years old. But Escuadro who had also married continued to pursue her.

The NBI said the woman showed signs of manhandling on her arms and other parts of her body, the reports also said, adding that she also claimed that Escuadro shot her in the stomach last year.

He also denied having shot the woman, instead, he claimed that the brothers of the woman had tried to shot him last year but in the scuffle, she got hit in the abdomen.

He claimed that the family of the woman did not like him because if their affair continued they would lose the money the German was sending her, the reports added.

Her German husband is coming soon to bring her to safety, the woman told investigators.

Well, there are two sides to the story, but definitely, it was a heinous crime that Escuadro had committed against the 31-year-old woman. And the NBI seems to be determined to put a stop to her tortuous existence by filing charges of kidnapping, illegal detention and rape against Escuadro.

***

The questions. Why was Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. not informed of the oath-taking of the four Negros local executives as NPC members in Manila recently?

Does this mean that former Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco is really determined to pick Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez as the gubernatorial bet against Marañon for the 2013 elections?

Does that signal a possible breakup of the United Negros Alliance soon, with Alvarez taking over from Marañon as the coalition’s gubernatorial bet.?

But Marañon, seems unfazed by the challenge of Alvarez. He pointed out recently that in a democracy one must be ready to always fend off challenges.

In short, one can glean from that statement of Marañon that he is not giving up his reelection bid for nothing. In effect, the next meeting of UNA can become a decisive challenge to both Alvarez and Marañon on whether they can maintain the solidarity of the alliance.

***

There was one thing which President Benigno Aquino III had never touched upon despite the years of clamor from landowners against the Lina Law. This law had paved way for the emergence of the squatters “problem as the main tormentors of landowners especially the small ones who can only own one or two lots in the city.

Thousands of landowners throughout the country have been hurt by the need to look for resettlement of squatters before they could eject illegal occupants of their lots. That means they have to spend more money to have them resettled and spend more money to have them ejected by court order.

This is something which the President should give attention to. This is the biggest explosive time bomb in our country today.*

back to top