“Please don’t!”
CEBU, Philippines - This was the desperate plea of a 65-year-old grandmother before she was allegedly raped by her neighbor on Thursday dawn at Sitio Tabay Lawom, Barangay Tisa, Cebu City.
The victim, who appears to be in a state of shock, sustained wounds around her mouth after the suspect, Danilo Cominguez, 24, of the same barangay, held her mouth open with his two hands at around 4 am.
The victim said she was walking along a secluded path towards the main road so she could take a jeepney to Carbon Market to buy ingredients for her raw-fish salad business which locals call as kinilaw.
While walking, the suspect pulled her shirt collar from behind and said, “Gikan ko sa mga patay (I came from the dead!)”
She said they both grappled for a few seconds until she could no longer move.
The suspect reportedly faced her and told her not to shout while gagging the victims’ mouth with his hand, she said.
“Ayaw og saba la kay patyon taka, (Don’t make any noise or I will kill you)” the suspect allegedly told her.
While the victim pleaded for her life, the suspect pushed her down to the ground and covered her face with a malong.
With her entire face covered, the suspect hurriedly pulled his pants down and demanded that the old woman remover her pants as well.
“Wala nalang gyud ko misukol tingalig iya ko patyon mao nga ako nalang gi-hubo ang akong gi-sul-ob, (I did not fight back because he might kill me so I just removed my pants)” she told The FREEMAN.
After having sex with the victim, Cominguez reportedly stood up, put-on his trousers and then thanked the old woman. The suspect then left her half-naked.
It was only then that the victim recognized the suspect as Cominguez because of his distinctive haircut.
The victim then ran home sobbing and bleeding as she asked her son Miguel (real name withheld) for help and told him that she was raped by Cominguez.
Angry over what happened to his mother, Miguel got up from his bed and searched for the suspect. The victim’s son found Cominguez sleeping naked on a makeshift bench a few meters from his house.
The victim’s son controlled his anger and reported the incident to Tisa Barangay Hall.
Barangay social workers referred the victim the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center Pink Room where it was confirmed that the victim recently had sexual intercourse.
Cominguez, a peanut vendor, admitted to the crime, adding that he was under the influence of drugs and liquor when he raped the victim.
According to him, he took drugs on Wednesday night and drank with some friends until 2 pm on Thursday where he fell asleep a few meters from their house.
Cominguez also apologized to the victim who is bent on filing charges against him.
Chief Insp. Aileen Recla, Punta Princesa Police Station chief, said they will file rape charges against the suspect anytime today. (FREEMAN)