A police sergeant is now facing dismissal from the service after he was accused of raping a female motorcycle rider in Mabalacat, Pampanga last week.
Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that Police Staff Sergeant Robin Mangaga is now disarmed and under restrictive custody pending the result of the investigation on the administrative cases filed against him by the victim.
"Despite the repeated warning, there are still a few policemen who abuse the power given to them by the Filipino people. But this will not discourage us in pursuing our reform program, but in fact, this serves as a motivation to continue our internal cleansing," said Eleazar.
Based on the report Mangaga flagged down a motorcycle driven by the victim in a checkpoint in Mabalacat, Pampanga on October 8.
The victim admitted to having forgotten carrying his driver’s license but instead of imposing sanctions based on the traffic laws, the policeman took advantage of the situation to sexually abuse her.
According to the victim, her motorcycle was only released by the policeman after raping her. She immediately sought the assistance of her co-workers in filing a complaint against Mangaga.
Eleazar said that he had already instructed the Internal Affairs Service to expedite the conduct of the investigation based on the complaint lodged by the victim.
The Chief PNP also ordered the regional director of Central Luzon to provide security to the victim.
At least two more cases of sexual assault were recorded by the PNP since the start of the lockdown in March last year, one of them involved two policemen who were accused of killing the teenaged girl who filed a sexual abuse complaint against them in Ilocos Sur. The slain girl was among the two victims who were sexually assaulted by the two policemen after they were caught violating the curfew.
Should Mangaga is found guilty, Eleazar vowed that he would immediately dismiss him from the service.
Eleazar assured the victim that the PNP leadership will assist her in seeking justice over the incident.
He also urged those victims of abuses of some law enforcers to come forward and seek the help of authorities to make those involved accountable for their actions.