Mangudadatu asks vice mayor: Undergo DNA test in rape case

DAVAO CITY, Philippines  – Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu is asking the vice mayor of South Upi town, his brother and two bodyguards to submit themselves to DNA testing to prove that they were not involved in the rape of a volunteer nurse last Sept. 25.

“I am calling on these people, the vice mayor, his brother and his bodyguards to submit their DNA samples just to prove they are not guilty at all,” Mangudadatu said in a phone interview.

Vice Mayor Jordan Ibrahim was reportedly seen to have followed “Florence,” the volunteer nurse as nicknamed by the media, from a videoke bar in South Upi on the night of Sept. 25.

Florence, who was left for dead on a vacant lot behind the municipal hospital where she served as volunteer nurse, suffered memory lapses and paralysis due to head injuries she sustained in the attack.

Florence is now in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the National Bureau of Investigation after she was discharged from the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) here last Thursday.

SPMC executive director Leopoldo Vega said Florence has shown remarkable recovery in her motor and cognitive functions after her more than 40 days of confinement in the hospital.

However, authorities have yet to wait for Florence to voluntarily offer information on her ordeal, as her psychiatric and psychological therapy still continues even after her discharge from the SPMC.

Mangudadatu said he has in a way been extending support to Florence’s family who needed to relocate here, as they fear for their lives if they return to their home in Cotabato City.

Other officials, particularly Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Francis Escudero, have also vowed to help Florence in her quest for justice.

Presidential sister and actress Kris Aquino said she would ask her brother, President Aquino, to attend to the concerns of Florence and other rape victims.

The actress visited Florence last week at the SPMC, while Escudero personally greeted her on her birthday last Wednesday.