BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
ONE ABUSED child is Alma (not her real name), who was only 6 in 2011 when she was raped by her maternal uncle. She was left alone in the house of her grandmother. When he arrived and saw her, he brought her inside the grandmother’s room, where he raped her.
She did not know then that what happened to her was abuse or a crime. Years later, Alma told her mother and other relatives about it, but the mother got angry and accused her child of lying.
However, the mother confronted her brother and his family about it. They admitted the crime and paid Alma’s family P60,000, which her parents accepted and used for the medical needs of her seriously ill younger brother.
Alma also learned from a younger cousin, Martha, that Alovera also raped her when she was 4 in 2013. He used candy to entice her to come close to him. He then grabbed her and brought her to his room, where he raped her. At that age, she was frightened and unable to tell anyone.
In September 2022, a class discussion about child abuse and rape triggered Alma to recall her own rape, and she broke down in tears.
Her teacher brought her to the guidance counselor, who happened to be a highly trained former staff member of the Preda Foundation and immediately supported Alma.
She disclosed to the counselor what her uncle had done to her and Martha. The guidance counselor then referred them both to the Preda home for abused children. Together with a local social worker, the counselor rescued both children in Olongapo City and put them under the home’s protective custody. They soon began therapy and later became self-confident and empowered.
After a while, they filed separate legal complaints against their uncle. Despite much pressure from their mothers, who had been already paid off to remain silent, they testified powerfully against him.
In September 2024, the uncle was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt and given two life sentences by Judge Gemma Theresa Hilario-Logronio for statutory rape.
In her decision, Logronio said the two girls were able to justify the delay in filing the case because they were so young when the rapes happened, they had repressed their memories of them, and they didn’t know that what their uncle did to them was rape.
The passage of time does not eliminate the crime, although some countries pass laws with “statutes of limitation” that prevent criminal cases from being filed after a number of years have passed. These laws deny justice to the victims and protect the abuser. They should be abolished.
Likewise, archived cases should remain active until the suspected child abuser is arrested. It is the police’s incompetence and lack of commitment that allows criminals to roam free and abuse more children.
Law enforcers’ failure to interview the abusers’ relatives and other contacts who know where he is hiding is where the justice system is failing. Such relatives and friends are helping to obstruct justice. This is where we all hope that Marbil will make a profound difference for the better.
Dozens of unserved arrest warrants are awaiting the PNP chief’s powerful intervention. Let us support the enforcement of laws, and the attainment of justice for children be seen as being done./PN
