‘Angelica’ relates rape to Malaysian probers

A 13-year-old Filipina told visiting Malaysian police the other day how she was raped while detained during a roundup of illegal immigrants on Malaysia’s island state of Sabah, Manila officials said.

But in a new twist, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday that the girl — identified by her pseudonym "Angelica" to protect her identity — may not be a Filipino citizen.

Meanwhile, at the Department of Justice, Malaysian investigators interviewing Angelica have discovered that she was not just molested by three guards as reported earlier, but up to as many as seven, sources at the DOJ said.

The officials declined to say if the girl, shown photos of Sabah policemen during her questioning at the Malaysian Embassy by three Malaysian police officers, was able to identify any of her alleged attackers.

"We’re not supposed to divulge the findings because this is just a preliminary investigation," Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said by telephone.

However, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, quoting Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño who was among those who assisted the girl, told reporters the victim had pointed to several guards from among the pictures shown to her.

"The girl was shown pictures of the guards and she was able to identify some of the perpetrators. It turned out the earlier assessment that there were only three guards involved was inaccurate. In fact she pointed to I think about seven," Perez said, but added he would still verify this.

The girl was among tens of thousands of Filipino illegals expelled from Malaysia in recent months in the wake of Kuala Lumpur’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.

She stirred a diplomatic storm and a vigorous protest from President Arroyo to Malaysian Premier Mahathir Mohamad early this month when she told Manila authorities she was raped by police in a Sabah detention center.

Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Lauro Baja said the government is now verifying reports that Angelica could be a Malaysian national contrary to earlier reports that she is a Filipino citizen.

"We are not yet definite whether Angelica is a Filipino citizen or not," Baja said while noting that based on results of preliminary investigation the young rape victim is a Malaysian national.

Baja explained that initial information gathered by state prosecutors indicated that Angelica was born to a Malaysian father and based on "jus sanguinis" rule on citizenship, she could be Malaysian.

Angelica’s mother is Filipina but authorities are unsure if the girl has dual citizenship.

But Baja said the issue on citizenship is unlikely to affect the rape charges she is set to file against her Malaysian abuser.

"It should not affect the case legally but it may give a different outlook to the Philippines’ advocacy of her case," Baja said.

Perez said the alleged rapists are all guards in Kota Kinabalu where thousands of Filipinos were deported for being undocumented aliens. "She remembers the guards’ identifying marks (peklat)."

He added that a case of statutory rape is a case better filed in Malaysia since it covers victims up to 16 years of age, unlike in Manila where it is just up to 12.

Perez said government lawyers are still counter-checking the girl’s age and nationality as well because her birth records are in Malaysia. "There is another way of proving age and that is by examination of the teeth and she was subjected to teeth examination," he said.

The Malaysian investigators also interviewed an eyewitness to the case, also a Filipino minor, Soliman said.

The interview was expected to resume yesterday.

"Since the alleged rape was committed while the victim was in their custody, it is for the Malaysian authorities to investigate and, if warranted, to start the process of filing a case with Malaysian courts," the DFA said in a statement.

At the moment, Baja said, the Philippine government has not yet taken an official position concerning the citizenship of Angelica.

He also gave assurances that as of this time, the Philippine government is still extending all efforts to provide legal assistance to Angelica.

Malaysia’s crackdown on illegals had threatened to strain its relations with its poorer, more populous neighbors, including Indonesia.

There were also allegations that four other teenage Filipinas were raped by policemen while waiting for deportation in Sabah on Borneo. – Mayen Jaymalin, Delon Porcalla