Police to scan clubs for ‘date rape’ drug
Saturday, October 10, 2015
By
DARYL T. JABIL
IS THE “date rape” drug now in Cebu City?
The Cebu City Intelligence Branch (CIB) plans to monitor night clubs for the presence of liquid ecstasy in the next few weeks, following a woman’s allegation that a man forced her to drink a glass of liquor before she was gang-raped last Monday.
Supt. Romeo Santander, chief of the CIB, said they will coordinate with managers of night clubs and entertainment hubs for the monitoring later this month.
“We have to monitor aron di na ni managhan kining biktima (to prevent the number of victims from rising),” Santander told Sun.Star Cebu.
Shirley (real name withheld) reported to police that she was gang-raped by three men in a boarding house on V. Urgello St., Barangay Sambag 2, Cebu City before dawn last Monday.
It was the first time in Cebu City this year that a woman claimed she was abducted from a club then raped, according to Insp. Arieza Otida, Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) chief of Cebu City Police Office.
Prevention
Shirley recalled that a man forced her to drink a glass of liquor while she partied with friends inside a club on Gen. Maxilom Ave. last Sunday night. She said it made her feel dizzy.
Another man then punched her stomach, which made her faint.
The incident led the WCPD to include in their scheduled series of anti-criminality seminars in schools a lecture for students on how to keep away from potential rapists in clubs.
“Di na man gyod ni mapugngan sa generation sa mga batan-on karon nga uso ning ingon ani (We can’t control this generation’s fondness for parties and clubbing), so we’ll just give them safety reminders,” Otida said.
She also urged the public, especially those active in social media, to stop bashing the complainant.
“Siguro it was expected (by netizens) nga go ra ang babaye, pleasure mode ra siya ato (that the girl was being a flirt or out to get pleasure) because she was in the bar, but every woman, every victim deserves respect,” Otida told Sun.Star Cebu.
Video
A video showing Shirley being hysterical on the ground, reportedly taken after the alleged gang-rape, was uploaded online. Shirley’s aunt and other relatives saw it.
“Wa gyud sila’y batasan! Dako kaayo ‘tong kadaut sa amoa, kon kahibalo pa lang sila (They’re scoundrels! They did not know it brought so much pain to us),” the aunt said while sobbing in an interview.
She said her niece attempted to commit suicide in her room when she got home. The room’s door had to be destroyed, and her family saw Shirley holding a thick rope attached to the ceiling.
Criminal complaints for rape were filed in the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office last Wednesday against 48-year-old Peter Bendanillo, the boarding house’s caretaker; Mark Anthony Dumpe, a college athlete; and a still unidentified man.
The victim has been consistent in her allegations that the three men raped her, according to Fuente Police Chief David Señor. He added that a medical certificate also showed indications that Shirley had been raped.
Of the three, only Bendanillo has been arrested.
Support
Although Dumpe has not been found by police as of yesterday, his relatives started spreading photos and posts bearing
#FairJudgmentForDumpe and
#LordIkawNayBahalaSaTanan on Facebook.
“Ang Ginoo wlaman natulog ba.kablo ko.wna mabuhat sa ako manghod (I know that the Lord does not sleep. My brother did not do it),” an account named Jessyl Ramos Dumpe commented on a public post.
Facebook user Trixie Ong also posted: “He’s my friend and I know he’s not capable of doing it.”
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 has been monitoring the possible presence of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in Cebu since April this year, following an arrest of two alleged distributors of the drug in Mandaluyong City.
The GHB is one of the liquid drugs commonly used by rapists and its potential customers include party-goers, according to PDEA 7 Director Jeffrey Bangsa.
Asked for the monitoring’s update yesterday, PDEA 7 Deputy Director Wardley Getalla said, “Wala pa naman kami report ng proliferation nyan sa Cebu (We haven’t received any report of the drug’s proliferation here yet).”
He, however, did not discount the possibility that what Shirley had taken could be GHB. “Baka sa labas binili or hindi pa rampant kaya naililihim pa nila sa authorities (It could have been bought abroad or available in small amounts so they’re still able to conceal it from the authorities),” he said.