A PROTEST by women groups was staged on Monday in front of Eastern Mindanao Command Headquarters in Panacan, Davao City, to demand the surrender of three soldiers accused of raping a 14-year-old lumad girl from Talaingod.
rGabriela Southern Mindanao secretary general May Ann Sapar said in an interview with Sun.Star Davao on Monday they fear the case filed against the three accused might be whitewashed.
Protesters also included members of Sabokahan Lumad women organization.
The rape victim is lumad (indigenous person) now seeking refuge at UCCP Haran.
Sapar said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had already admitted the perpetrators are their soldiers, but refused to name them for security reason.
"Ang ilang ginabuhat karon nga naa sa ilang kustodiya ang tulo ka sundalo pagpakita ni nga gina depensahan gihapon nila ang mga perpetrators (The three accused are under their custody and this only shows that they are still defending the perpetrators)," Sapar said.
Last week, according to Sapar, the Police Regional Office (PRO) claimed the mother of the victim will no longer file charges because there are already settlements made between the accused and the parents.
Sapar expressed disagreement on the police's explanation that the charges against the perpetrators will weaken if the mother will not give her consent to file the charges.
Sapar cited that according to the law, particularly Republic Act 7610 (Special Protection of Children against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act), in the absence of the parents or the guardians, it is the state that should take an effort to file the charges which only means that the charges will not weaken.
"Gina challenge gayud sa Gabriela ang AFP nga pangalanan ang tulo [ka suspects og] ilahang i-surrender og kung tinood nga dili nila gina tolerate ang ilahang mga tao nga adunay [paglampas sa]balaod (Gabriela is challenging the AFP to name the three suspects and surrender them if they are really not tolerating their soldiers who are violating the law)," Sapar said.