The Art of Gang Rape

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The Art of Gang Rape In Philippines

By: Taga Ibaan Ako

            Philippines is the only the predominantly Catholic country in Asia. With this, it is expected that we live by it, and that we grew up with high regard for morality and decency. But with gang rapes flooding headlines lately, it appears like Muslim countries have drowned and taken over us from being an ultra conservative country. Gang rape stories have been all over the news and it’s beginning to become a habit for ill mannered men.  The question now here is, what does it take for a gang rape to be consummated? Let’s see what we can deduce of it.

            Gang rape, also known as mass rape, basically occurs when a group of people participate in the rape of a single person or victim (This one goes both ways for men and women; for men can also be a victim of the same crime as perpetrated by women.). More often than not, participants plan for this and set a situation to lure their victim. Moreover, perpetrators may also be only triggered by a plain spur of the moment to perform such out of the desire to experience thrill, adventure and to exercise dominance over the victim. Unfortunately, some cases remain unreported for most reasons known only to victims.

            In its broadest sense, gang rape is rape by itself. In Philippine jurisprudence, like any other countries, rape is considered a heinous crime punishable by life imprisonment. As defined in the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 (a revision of the Revised Penal Code of 1930), the crime of rape is defined as follows:

Article 226-A. When And How Rape is Committed:

A.      By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:

a.      Through force, threat, or intimidation;

b.      When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;

c.       By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and

d.      When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above are present.

B.      By any person who, under any of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 hereof, shall commit an act of sexual assault by inserting his penis into another person’s moth or anal orifice, or any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person.

In case of gang rape, the above mentioned elements are present. Plus the fact that such crime is further aggravated when participated by two more persons to pin down a victim.

Gang Rape Cases in the Philippines

            One of the most celebrated gang rape case In the Philippines occurred back in 1967 involving Magdalena T. de la Riva (a.k.a. Maggie de la Riva) who appeared in almost 80 films. She was a rising young star of ABS-CBN when she was kidnapped, tortured and gang-raped at the Swanky Hotel in Pasay City by a notorious gang of young men.

            Maggie was on her way home from the broadcasting company aboard her bantam car around 4:30am when a Pontiac convertible car cut her way.  The gang, composed of Jose Gomes, Basilio Pineda, Eduardo Aquino Y Payumo, Rogelio Canal Y Sevilla (principals) with accomplishes Wong Lay Pueng, Silvero Guanzon and Jessie Guion, having conspired together, forcibly took her at Swanky Hotel. There, she was made to dance naked. After which, by means of intimidation and deadly weapon, raped her successively only to be left in front of  the Free Press Building near Efipanio delos Santos Avenue and Channel 5.

            Another case that held spotlight for some months was that of Subic Rape Case. It became so popular and achieved political and international significance because of the Visiting Forces Agreement between US and Philippines, which had been the subject of protests from the beginning. The case almost turned into a circus when, initially, Suzette Nicolas also known as Nicole, alleged that she was gang-raped by four (4) US Marines Dominic Duplantis, Keith Silkwood, Chad Capentier and Daniel Smith. Few days later, she changed her statements confessing that only Lance Corporal Daniel Smith raped her inside a moving Starex van at Alvara Pier in Subic. And that the other US Marines were inside the van cheering for Daniel Smith. During the trial, Smith stated that it was a consensual sex since Nicole agreed on it. In the end, Smith was convicted and Nicole was given the chance to go to US.

            Lately, the country again went under siege by similar stories. The latest was that of a volunteer nurse in Timanan, South Upi, Maguindanao, who was raped by 6 men. Accordingly, the victim was on her way to visit a midwife in Timanan when dragged down by at least 10 males who took turn in raping her. The victim was found naked and unconscious the following day. The sad part is, she was rendered half-paralyzed due to severe head injuries which may lead to permanent paralysis.  There indications that the victim was strangled with the intention of killing the victim. Dr. Tahir Sulaik, Provincial Health Officer of Maguindanao was even quoted saying “Sirang-sira ang mukha. Noong Makita hindi makilala. She was half naked”.

            Earlier the above mentioned case, another gang rape transpired in Quezon City when Janzen Ruckenbrod and two others kidnapped and took advantage of  25-year old “Jessica”. Narrating her ordeal, Jessica said she was waiting for a jeepney ride in front of Maalikaya Sauna House along Quezon Avenue last September 23, 2010 when she was taken by 3 men on board a Mitsubishi Fuzion (ZRT 628). According to her, she was molested inside the car and was brought to a house in Fairview, where she was gang-raped, then left naked on the road. She also said that the suspects fired a gun before forcing her into the car to scare away people around them. Luckily, her sister who was with her was able to get the plate number of the vehicle that led to the arrest of Ruckenbrod. Few days later, another victim of Ruckenbrod spilled her story that she too had experienced the same fate on the former’s hand.

Patterns of Gang Rape

            In most cases, patterns of gang rapes are similar and obvious. They usually have the following characteristics:

a.      Victims are usually dragged into a vehicle through the use of force and intimidation.

b.      Suspects choose victims that are alone or appear to be helpless even though with a companion.

c.       Since it is classified as gang rape, the victim is over powered by the suspects in terms of number and strength.

d.      Victims are sometimes lured and deceived to go to a place where suspects are waiting.

e.      Gang rapes are also practiced in fraternity initiations.

f.        It often involves drugs and liquors where the perpetrators are high with it while the victims are made to drink until it render them too weak to fight or at least scream.

Statistics

            Statistics on the incidence of gang rape are usually based on available police records. More often, these are inaccurate and not a true representation of the problem, for cultural and social stigmatization associated with rape act as significant barriers to women reporting rape. Furthermore, women are more likely not to report rape if there is little support from their families, law enforcement agencies and health sector. In the Philippines, The Asian Women Resource Exchange (AWORC), an internet-based women’s information service, reports that 794 rapes occurred in Philippines in the first four months of 1997.

            During the first semester of 1999 alone, there were 2,393 children who fell prey to rape, attempted rape, incest, acts of lasciviousness and prostitution. As of 2006, rape continued to be a problem, with most cases going unreported. During the year, the PNP reported 685 rape cases. There were reports or rape and sexual abuse of women in police or protective custody –often women from marginalized groups, such as suspected prostitutes, drug users, and lower income individuals arrested for minor crimes. The situation continued in 2007, with the number reported rape cases increasing to 879.

Silence

            Most victims of gang rape remain silent for months, even years, before reporting the crime. Obet Montes, coordinator for services of the women’s group GABRIELA, say this is due to the victim’s fear of society’s judgment, of not wanting to be branded as “maduming babae” (dirty woman). She says further that a rape victim becomes so afraid that she is going to be blamed for that crime; that she denies that she was violated.

Other Cases of the Gang Rapes As Reported

1.      On Jan. 30, 2010, Saturday, an unspeakable crime took place in Antique and shocked the peace-loving people who have not known anything like it. A teenage high school student and cheerleader was raped and murdered in a manner so heinous it was unprecedented in Antique’s history.

According to a report, that evening, the victim, an only daughter of a prominent family, was riding on a motorcycle with her boyfriend along a road in Dalipe village when a group of men hit them with a wooden club. The boy lost consciousness. The men then brought the girl to a place called “Kampo,” an area near the police headquarters. The men took turns raping the girl. And while they were brutalizing her, her cell phone rang. The girl’s mother was on the line asking about her daughter’s whereabouts. The man who answered the phone told the mother that her daughter was fornicating. He said it in a most vulgar way in the local dialect and I don’t want to quote what he said.

The girl was found dead the following day. She looked like she had been clubbed on the head. She could hardly be recognized because of the lacerations on her face. A sharp weapon had been used on her face. Her body bore marks of beating. Her sexual organ was slashed and stuffed with sand, plastic and pieces of wood (Gang-rape murder in Antique, by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo, Philippine Daily Inquirer).

2.      The report said the victims, 14 and 17 years old, were invited by a schoolmate to the birthday party. However, they were surprised to see 10 to 15 members of a fraternity group waiting for them. Some of them were already drunk, one of the victims said.

The 14-year-old victim said one of the suspects molested her. The eight other suspects gang-raped the 17-year-old. The 14-year-old victim said her 17-year-old friend was traumatized by what happened to her (www.gmanews.tv, 10/06/2010)

3.      A 17-year-old girl who died after she was allegedly gang-raped by four men in the southern town of Sta. Catalina in Negros Oriental. The victim, “Janet” (not her real name), had claimed in a dying declaration, that she was gang-raped repeatedly by four men, one of whom she had named. The father told reporters that they were not aware of her ordeal until shortly before she died, when they noticed unusual things about her, to include infected breasts and genitals (Philippine News Agency, October 17, 2008, tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com).

4.      Bacong PNP Chief Inspector Leopold Ijan Sr. said that a woman surfaced and complained that she was gang raped by six men at Martisan Beach. The incident occurred while she and her boyfriend were strolling along Martisan Beach. Worse, her boyfriend was pinned on the ground by the suspects and forced to watch while they took turns of raping her.

Police operatives from both the Bacong and Dumaguete PNP have jointly captured two of the gang members namely Mario Dindo Tabanag of Sacsac, Bacong who yield a .22 caliber hand gun and some pieces of jewelry and Danilo Celestial, alias Enteng who was nabbed in Purok Santan, Taclobo, Dumaguete City with one caliber 38 revolver snubnose with four live ammunitions, one white plastic container with marijuana leaves, 3 cellular phones, 2 chargers, one pair pearl earrings, hairclip, ring, Australian coins and one coin purse (Negros Chronicle, Front Page, by DRT Demecillo)

            People are considered to be of higher level of animals having the capability to rationalize things and determine the difference between right and wrong. Unfortunately, the above mentioned events are putting us on the other end of the story. It’s saddening to know that men gorge on another woman’s flesh to feed their greed. Let us not go down further to that level. We can’t be at the bottom of morality.