Monday, November 19, 2007

MORE NEWS, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

Gov: Rape cases should not be amicably settled
BY BERLIN MCINTOSH

BONTOC, Mountain Province – If the provincial governor here would have his way, tribal folk should not resort to amicable settlements when rape is committed against victims. Gov. Maximo Dalog urged officials and constituents to file necessary cases instead against culprits so that justice would be served against perpetrators.

Dalog made this statement in a press conference on occasion of Children’s Month after learning that among the recently 20 reported cases on abuse of children, nine of which were rape cases, two were amicably settled while the other five were filed in court. One case was indorsed for prosecution while the other was endorsed to the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office.

Dalog added rape should not be tolerated especially since such crime is not a culture of Igorots. “With the presence of laws and intensified campaign against child abuse by the agencies concerned still abuses are done,” he said. It was also stated in the report that the seven suspects in the rape cases were adults whose age ranged from 30 to 70 while the other two were minors aged 14 and 17.

Based from the report of the Provincial Council for the Protection of Children it was learned Paracelis town had the most number of abused children of 10, followed by Bontoc with four, Bauko and Sadanga with three each and Tadian with two. Members of the PCP here commended Besao and Barlig for a report that there were no abused children in the towns this year. Includes in the count on abuse to the children were acts of lasciviousness and physical injuries.

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