Lieutenant Colonel Randy Caballes, the deputy provincial director for operation of Cebu Police Provincial Office (File Photo)
THE number of robbery, theft and rape cases in Cebu province has slightly increased.
This was according to Lieutenant Colonel Randy Caballes, the deputy provincial director for operation of Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO).
The CPPO has documented at least two significant rape incidents in recent weeks, including the death of 17-year-old Sharmaine Flores in Purok 2, Barangay Bunga, Toledo City, Cebu early on Friday, August 25, 2023, and the arrest of a father in Argao town on August 27 who was accused of raping his nine-year-old daughter because he frequently watched pornographic videos.
Caballes stated that these sensational cases have received quick response by increasing their police visibility in crime-prone areas of every municipality in order to prevent a repeat of the incident, as ordered by CPPO officer-in-charge Police Colonel Noel Flores.
Flores also instructed all police station chiefs to work with the teachers in order to educated the students on how to avoid being the victims of rape and other crimes.
Caballes clarified, however, that despite the fact that the rise in crime is not yet alarming, the police are working to find a solution as quickly as possible.
According to lawyer Naomi Truya-Abarientos, the Deputy Executive Director of the Children’s Legal Bureau, the increase in rape cases in the Central Visayas since the pandemic began has been disturbing.
She did acknowledge that there were a lot of rape instances even before the pandemic, and that when the Coronavirus (Covid-19) hit, it got worse because the children were at home.
Abarientos urged anyone who had experienced abuse to report to the police so that the perpetrators may be apprehended.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development is prepared to help victims of abuse, especially those who are afraid because the culprit is their father.(AYB, TPT)
