It hasn’t been a good week for women in Cebu.
Last Saturday night, July 15, 2023, Fely Cabusas suffered first-degree burns on her face and body when her live-in partner Eleazar Amandoron doused her with hot water from a thermos.
Based on initial investigation, Amandoron had had enough after he caught Cabusas exchanging chat messages with her alleged lover.
The suspect told police the victim also liked to humiliate him in front of her friends by making fun of his genitalia.
He said they always argued because Cabusas insisted on making all the decisions.
Cabusas said she could never forgive Amandoron, and vowed to file a lawsuit against him.
She was lucky to have survived her ordeal, albeit scarred for life. The same could not be said for Perlita Cabanes.
On Sunday night, July 16, Cabanes, a domestic helper, was in the home of her employer in the northern town of Consolacion when her live-in partner Bernabe Biasca dropped by for a visit.
Their relationship had been on the rocks lately, apparently caused by his irrational jealousy.
When Cabanes ignored his presence, Biasca suspected her of having an affair. He flew into a fit of rage, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her several times.
Asuncion Locoson, her employer, witnessed the whole thing.
When police arrived, it was too late. Cabanes was lying in a pool of blood. By the time they got her to a hospital in Mandaue City, she was dead.
Biasca remains at large, as of press time.
On Monday afternoon, July 17, the body of a woman was found stuffed inside a cardboard box that was left by the roadside in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City.
Police believed she had been tortured before she was killed, judging by her looks.
She was trussed up like an animal; feet and hands bound by wire.
The victim was later identified as 19-year-old Rhea Mae Tocmo, a native of Davao Region.
According to her sister, who lives in Panabo, Davao del Norte, she had no idea Tocmo was in Cebu until the latter asked her to book a ticket for her flight home.
The last time she was seen alive, Tocmo was riding a motorcycle driven by an unidentified man.
Police still have to identify her killer, or killers.
According to the report of SunStar Cebu’s Kaiser Jan Fuentes last March, the Philippine Statistics Authority 7 logged 1,189 incidents of violence against women across the region.
The data covers the results of the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) conducted in 2017.
It shows that “four in every 10 married women in Central Visayas have experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse.”
There is no word yet though on the results of the NDHS conducted in 2022.
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P.S. I would like to thank Dr. Maria Theresa Rosell, officer-in-charge of the Cebu City Assessor’s Office, and the staff at the receiving and claim area for the prompt delivery of service. It’s nice to know some things are changing for the good in Cebu City.