Authorities arrested a 49-year-old guard for allegedly raping a female COVID-19 patient recovering in a quarantine facility in Villaba town, Leyte province.
The town’s mayor Jorge Veloso said the guard, whose name was withheld by the police, was fired after the alleged rape that took placed at Tinghub village in Villaba.
The 44-year-old patient said the suspect raped her twice. The first incident happened on August 15, and the second occurred two days after.
The mayor said the victim was a stranded individual and reported the crime to a nurse in the quarantine facility.
The nurse then reported the incident to Dr. Oliver Razo, a municipal health officer, who told the sexual assault to Mayor Veloso.
“I immediately ordered our chief of police to arrest and file charges against him,” the town mayor said, referring to the quarantine facility guard.
Police arrested the security guard, a casual worker of the municipal government, around 11 pm on Monday.
The suspect was charged with two counts of rape on Tuesday (August 18).
The guard was detained at the Villaba police station.
The victim, meanwhile, was set to leave the quarantine facility after her COVID-19 tests yielded negative results.
Last month, a stranded man from Surigao did not finish his quarantine in Barangay Cabinuangan in New Bataan, Cagayan De Oro, after a man who entered the quarantine facility stabbed him to death.
The victim was identified as Arjay Villasencio, 33, who was just on the second day of his quarantine.
According to the investigation, the suspect went through the window at the back of the barangay isolation facility. They fought inside until the suspect stabbed the victim in the armpit with a knife.
The suspect surrendered to the police and pleaded guilty because he was angry with the victim.
The suspect has already been charged with murder.
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Magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocks Masbate
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit Cataingan, Masbate, on Tuesday morning.
The earthquake was recorded at 8:03 a.m. Its epicenter was located at 11.98°N, 123.98°E – 005 km S 17° W of Cataingan.
The depth of the focus of the earthquake is one kilometer. The quake was tectonic in origin.
Intensity IV was felt in Mapanas in Northern Samar; Legazpi City in Albay; and Lezo in Aklan.
Intensity III was felt meanwhile in Iloilo City, and Intensity I in President Roxas in Capiz.