CAMP DANGWA, Benguet -- Two persons wanted for the crime of rape in Ifugao and Apayao provinces, one of whom was listed as the Most Wanted Person by the Department Of Interior and Local Government (DILG), were arrested on last Tuesday in their respective hideouts.
Capt. Marnie Abellanida, deputy regional director of the Police Regional Office-Cordillera said, around 2:30 pm on March 22 when joint personnel of Alfonso Lista, Ifugao Municipal Police Station and Paniqui, Tarlac MPS, arrested Romulo Garcia, 62, in his hideout in Purok 6, Barangay Mabilang, Paniqui, Tarlac.
According to Abellanida, Garcia, a native of Barangay Simimbaan, Roxas, Isabela, was arrested on a Warrant of Arrest issued by Judge Efren M. Cacatian of Branch 15, Regional Trial Court in Alfonso Lista, Ifugao.
Garcia is facing two counts of rape.
The alleged rape took place in 1996 and his victim who happened to be a relative, became pregnant. The victim’s mother filed a case in March 1997. The suspect is now being treated in the hospital in Tarlac for his illness.
In Apayao, the police arrested Lendi Valencia, 45, at his residence in Barangay Nueva, in Sta. Marcela, Apayao.
Listed as No. 3 Provincial Most Wanted Person, Valencia was arrested on a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Victor Cumigad of Branch 26, RTC, 2nd Judicial Region, in Luna, Apayao.
Valencia, who is detained at Sta. Marcela MPS, is facing three counts of rape. The suspect was charged for raping a 13-year-old girl on Oct. 30, Nov. 6 and Nov. 19, 2021.