Philippine policeman accused of raping drug suspect’s 15-year-old daughter
- In viral video, accused officer appears to say officers committing rape is ‘nothing new’ in drug cases, although his meaning has since been disputed
- President Rodrigo Duterte has previously referred to instances of rape carried out by addicts to justify his war on drugs
The debate has been heightened by viral video showing a discussion between the officer and Metropolitan Manila’s police chief, in which the accused officer appears to say policemen committing rape is “nothing new” in drug cases, although his meaning has since been disputed.
The mother of a 15-year-old girl said she and her spouse were arrested on Friday for pushing drugs but officers insisted on bringing her daughter to the police station. The mother said one policeman – identified locally as Eduardo Valencia – told their daughter that charges against the couple would be dropped if she agreed to “be used”.
The girl later told her mother that Valencia and two other men offered to take her home but instead forced her to drink beer and took her to a motel, where she was raped. The girl’s relatives filed a police complaint that reached Guillermo Eleazar, who leads the National Capital Region Police Office. Valencia was arrested on Saturday.
Video footage has since emerged showing Eleazar angrily confronting Valencia in the presence of the girl’s mother, who cries out: “What has my daughter done to him? Why is he like that? You have children – why do you have to do that to the child? You ruined my daughter’s future.”
The video shows Valencia responding ambiguously: “Sir, I have family. Sir, that ... is nothing new among us, operatives, whenever we catch a drug pusher, sir.”
Eleazar berates the officer, saying a medical examination showed evidence consistent with rape.