Ship collision survivor in hot water for rape

A businessman may have survived the collision between two ships off Corregidor Island Sunday, but he may face the death penalty for allegedly raping his only daughter in Palawan.

Jameson Fedelin, 43, was immediately arrested by combined agents of the Task Force Jericho and the Coast Guard intelligence agents after he disembarked Sunday from a ship that rescued him and 194 others from the waters of Manila

Bay. Prior to his arrest, Fedelin had been describing to Chief Superintendent Manuel Cabigon, Jericho chief, how he survived the collision between the M/V San Nicolas and Super Ferry 12 last Sunday morning.

But he turned silent when informed that he may face the death penalty for repeatedly raping his 14-year-old daughter in their residence in Barangay I, Coron, Palawan for three years now.

The victim, a second-year high school student at the Coron School of Fisheries, claimed her father started raping her while she was in Grade 6 in 2000. It started when her mother, Gemma, left to buy merchandise for their three stores in Coron three years ago, she said.

According to the victim, Fedelin grabbed her by the arm, dragged her inside a room, took off her underwear and raped her everytime her mother was away, the victim said.

The victim claimed she could not tell her mother for fear the suspect would carry out his threat to kill them.

She kept her ordeal to herself until last March, when the mother noticed her daughter was extremely depressed . She confronted her and the victim tearfully narrated her sad experience at the hands of her father.

The mother immediately took her daughter to Manila and had her examined at the crime laboratory of the Philippine National Police (PNP) at Camp Crame. In her report dated April 13, Dr. Mary Ann Gajardo, medico-legal officer, found the victim in a non-virgin state. The victim is currently in a state of shock.

The crime laboratory findings prompted the mother to file a rape complaint before the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The case was forwarded to Jericho’s legal and investigation head Chief Inspector Eduardo Villena on May 22.

Since then, Villena had been calling Fedelin, whose mobile phone number was provided by the mother. Fedelin was convinced by Villena to "surrender and face the charges." Fedelin agreed to show up at the Jericho office to clear his name. He boarded the M/V San Nicolas in Palawan last Saturday.

A record check conducted by Villena showed that Fedelin’s name was not in the ship’s manifest. Fedelin claimed he bought his ticket inside the ship. Being a regular traveler, he was allowed to board the ship.

Fedelin said he was in the pilot house when the ship collided with another vessel off Corregidor Island. Before his ship went down, Fedelin grabbed his cell phone and called up Villena thrice, giving him a personal account of the incident.

The businessman was picked up by Senior Inspector Jess Kabigting and the Coast Guard intelligence agents upon his rescue.

Villena said he informed the victim’s mother that the ship carrying her husband had sunk. But Gemma appeared confident that her husband would make it because he was a good swimmer. Fedelin vehemently denied raping his daughter. "Gawa-gawa lang nila iyon. Di ko alam kung bakit," said Fedelin, who claimed he and his wife had no quarrels in the past.

The suspect is now temporarily detained at the Quezon City Jail. – With Perseus Echeminada