A VILLAGE chief in Cagayan de Oro City accused of raping a minor who has reportedly gone in hiding following the issuance of an arrest warrant against him said he will surface in "due time" to face the charges.
In a text message, Barangay Pagatpat chairman Achilles Jude Babaran said he is willing to go to jail but said he is hopeful the court will eventually resolve the case in his favor.
"I'm willing to go to prison but I hope the court will see that there was no rape," Babaran said in the text message.
Police officers who went looking for Babaran to serve the warrant failed to locate him on Friday.
Babaran was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl twice last year, the same girl who was later killed inside a hotel room by a certain Jason Caramba on July 12.
Authorities have been looking for Babaran after the Regional Trial Court Branch 37 issued on Friday, September 2, a warrant for Babaran’s arrest for two counts of rape.
Police Chief Inspector Ariel Phillip Pontillas, chief of Agora Police Station said the warrant was signed by Judge Jose Escobido last August 26 but was only received by authorities and the family on Friday.
He said they have been searching for Babaran for the last two days but apparently, Babaran has been on leave and has left town.
"Last Thursday ug gahapon, Biyernes, didto mi sa iyang balay pero wala man daw, nag-leave pa, unya out-of-town," he said.
"Mabutang gayud nga wanted or fugitive person na siya kay ang korte man ang nag-order ani nga ma-under na sa iyang jurisdiction. On-going pa gihapon atong manhunt operation sa iya, until such time nga madakpan nato siya," Pontillas added.
Babaran claimed that politics was involved in the filing of the charges against him.
He said he was also on official leave that's why law enforcers couldn't find him last week.