Girl files child abuse raps vs. father, stepmother

CEBU, Philippines - A 13-year-old girl has filed charges of child abuse against her father and stepmother, who allegedly maltreated her several times since they moved to Cebu from Iloilo.

A complaint for ten counts of child abuse has been filed against her stepmother while five counts of the same complaint have been filed against her biological father. 

The girl, in her complaint, claimed that she had been maltreated by her biological father and stepmother several times since they moved to Cebu.

Sometime on September 2005, months after they moved to Labangon, Cebu City, her father and stepmother were arguing on why she was allowed to join the pajama party of their school.

As a punishment after their argument, she was made to sit on the air by her stepmother without her clothes on.

On March 16, 2007, the girl said that her stepmother accused her of glaring at her and told her father about it, but he didn’t mind her.

It resulted to another argument between the couple and the girl said that her father allegedly punched her on the face.

Not contented, the stepmother was alleged to have taken a steel tube from a shoe rack and also started hitting the girl and also choked her.

That night, she left their house and went to a nearby subdivision to get money from a classmate, who owed her an amount, enough to get her to Iloilo.

The next day, her parents found her and asked forgiveness for what they have done and promised her that they will not do it again. It was then that she gave in and went home with them.

But on April 28, 2007, when she confronted her father about her stepmother, the woman overheard her.

The stepmother allegedly pulled her hair and slapped her in the face and punched her in the stomach.

The girl said that her father also helped her stepmother maul her until she lost consciousness.

When she regained consciousness, she allegedly saw her father kneeling on her stomach and her stepmother was choking her that she almost lost her consciousness again.

The girl said that her stepmother poured cold water on her face so she would not pass out.

After this, she alleged that her stepmother got a pair of scissors and started cutting her hair.

When they moved to another house in May 2007, the girl said that she was also made to walk around their new home naked when her stepmother saw that her underwear was not properly hooked. When she cried, she claimed that her stepmother hit her with a belt and the buckle hit her head that she cried even louder.

The girl also said that when she tried to steal money from her father so she can have fare to go back to Iloilo, her stepmother burned a one peso coin and placed it on her right palm resulting to a welt.

The girl also claimed that when they again transferred to another house at Elizabeth Pond, her stepmother bathed her with rugby while her father did nothing and only watched.

She claimed that her stepmother even attempted to run over her with their car, but the girl’s father stopped her.

She also recalled that sometime in June last year her stepmother hit her with a belt buckle on her breasts several times and still has bruises from that punishment.

She also said that during her birthday sometime in July 2008, her stepmother called her upstairs and while she was on her way up, she was allegedly kicked on her breasts seven times.

The girl added in her affidavit that on August 2008, when her dad tried to separate with her stepmom, the woman tied a belt around her neck and dragged her around the house causing her to lose consciousness.

The victim alleged that when she regained consciousness, her stepmom told her that she could have died if she did not let go.

This incident reportedly angered the girl’s father, who told the woman that it would be best that they would separate.

That statement of the father allegedly angered the stepmother, who reportedly made the girl kneel and take off her shirt before hitting her with a belt.

The girl also claimed that there was also an instance where she was sent out of the house for six days with no food or extra clothes, but managed to survive, thanks to a neighbor, who secretly fed her.

The girl also has several other claims of abuse against both parents. She also alleged that her younger sister is also subjected to such abuse.

The girl is now in the custody of her relatives while the charges will still be heard in court. — Jasmin R. Uy/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)