New modus? Students abducted, gang-raped by van-riding men

MANILA –Four men in a van reportedly abducted and gang-raped a 21-year-old student as she was walking along EDSA-Magallanes one early evening in September.

The victim, who recently spoke to reporters from ABS-CBN, recounted that she was heading home from school at around 6:30 p.m. of September 30 when she noticed that she was being tailed by a van.

The van then drove up alongside her, at which point, she was yanked and forced into the vehicle by some of its male passengers.

“Bigla po nilang hinablot yung bag ko. Akala ko po holdap kasi yung bag ko po yung kinuha. Nagulat po ako pati yung braso ko hinatak rin po nila (They suddenly grabbed my bag. I though at first that it was a hold-up, because it was my bag that they grabbed. It startled me when they grabbed my arm, as well.),” she said.

By the victim’s account, there were four men on board the van; three passengers plus the driver.  The victim was gang-raped in the vehicle.

“Sinasampal po nila ako, sabi manahimik ako, ganun. Ang huli ko na lang po nakita naglalagay po sila ng condom (They were slapping me, telling me to be quiet, things like that. The last thing I saw was the men, putting on condoms.),” the victim said.

She disclosed that she lost consciousness shortly after the men held a chemical-soaked handkerchief over her nose, and awoke – naked from the waist down and aching all over – at around 3 a.m. the next day in a grassy field in Malolos, Bulacan.

Fortunately, a woman and her daughter came to the victim’s aid.

In a similar case, a 14-year-old girl was abducted and gang-raped on Monday, November 3, by men on board a van. Like the first victim, she was walking home from school. The abduction took place at along Kalayaan Avenue in Makati.

The second victim managed to escape from her abductors when the suspects pulled up at a gas station.

The reports made no mention as to the make, colour, and other details of the van.

The Women’s and Children’s Desk of the Makati Police District said that investigations are ongoing, and they have yet to determine if the same suspects are responsible for both cases of abduction and gang rape.

Meanwhile, police officials strongly urge parents, especially those of minors, to make sure their children are chaperoned to and from school.

Authorities likewise encouraged commuters, particularly females, to employ the “buddy system” especially when commuting at night.