A 17-year-old minor was arrested after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl who was attending the fiesta in Unit 3 OPRA, Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City, in the early morning of Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
The suspect, identified only by the alias “Bunot,” a resident of the area, was immediately caught in a follow-up operation by the police. The victim was identified by the alias “Inday Ligaya,” from Plaza OPRA in the same barangay.
According to reports, the victim was assisted by barangay tanods (village watchmen), Gender and Development (GAD) officers, and members of the Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) after a compassionate motorist brought her to the barangay hall.
“Cabs” Cabrera, one of the barangay tanods in Kalunasan who spoke to SunStar Superbalita, revealed that at around 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, “Inday Ligaya” was brought by a man on a motorcycle.
The motorist said he found the victim near a bridge on the hill. At first, he thought the girl was crazy because her hair was very messy and her clothes were dirty.
But the motorist felt pity when the victim cried out: “Help me, sir! I am not crazy! I was raped!”
Because of this, he did not hesitate and brought the victim to the barangay hall to file a blotter report. He then returned with his wife to continue assisting the girl while the authorities took care of her.
In “Inday Ligaya’s” account to the tanods, she had been partying with her friends on Monday evening.
The victim said that alias Bunot approached her and suddenly pulled her away. “Inday Ligaya” resisted by saying: “Don’t say that, you already have a girlfriend,” along with telling him to set boundaries.
But the suspect allegedly replied, “I approached you because she (the girlfriend) is far away, and you are near.”
The suspect did not stop and continued dragging the victim to a secluded area on the hill and thicket.
The victim had no strength to resist because she had been drinking, and her companions, who were supposed to go home, had disappeared from her sight.
“Inday Ligaya” shouted loudly for help, but no one heard her because of the loud disco music, so she was taken to the mountain where she was violated.
After the evil deed, the suspect threatened the victim with death if she reported it, saying, “I will come back, I have something to do,” and then left her in the thicket.
When dawn broke, the victim came out of the thicket to the road to ask for help, but initially, passersby ignored her because they thought she was crazy due to her messy hair and dirty clothes, until a compassionate motorist came.
Police Captain Gabriel Mota, chief of the Guadalupe Police Station, who spoke to SunStar Superbalita, confirmed that a rape case has already been filed against the suspect in court.
Because the suspect is a minor, he was immediately turned over to the Operations Second Chance facility in Barangay Kalunasan on Wednesday, June 10.
Captain Mota also thanked the compassionate motorist, the tanods, and the barangay officials who acted quickly, leading to the immediate arrest of the suspect.
