SAN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija, Philippines — A former vice mayor of Pantabangan town has been sentenced to life imprisonment for two counts of rape.
Romeo Borja Jr. was also ordered to pay P100,000 in moral damages to the victim – whom he had impregnated – and support their baby, a court here said in a decision promulgated on Monday and released yesterday.
The court ordered Borja’s transfer to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.
Borja was charged with 22 counts of rape, but the court found him guilty only in two counts for incidents on Oct. 23, 2009 and March 23, 2010.
The victim, who was 17 years old when she filed the complaint, claimed Borja raped her several times from 2009 to 2011. She said she initially kept mum about the incidents for fear of her life.
The victim gave birth to a baby girl on Feb. 1, 2012.
Gabriela party-list Rep. Emmy de Jesus, who attended the promulgation of the case, lamented that it took almost five years for the court to issue a ruling.