THE 13-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by a lawyer-broadcaster, was placed under the Witness Protection Program on Monday, July 31.
The girl's family was also under witness protection with full-time police operation, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said in a Facebook post on Monday morning.
NBI Regional Director Patricio Bernales, in an interview, said they already filed rape charges against radio broadcaster Juril Patiño.
The girl was allegedly raped by Patiño inside his car in Zamora Street, Barangay Parian, Cebu City, on July 4.
On July 21, the girl reportedly went missing in a public hospital where she and her mother were undergoing psychological consultations.
The girl’s mother said they were escorted by the NBI that day, but the authorities left for lunch and did not return, leaving the child alone in the hospital lobby.
The parents of the girl, then, sought assistance from the office of Cebu City Mayor Osmeña.
Six days after she went missing, the girl was found in the house of a newfound friend, not in her aunt's house as previously reported, in Barangay Umapad, Mandaue City, by the local radio station, dyHP.
Patiño said he will face the charges in court. (SunStar Cebu)