MANILA – Police Colonel Joy Tomboc, head of the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) says Region 7 and National Capital Region (NCR) have the highest recorded cases of violence against women and children (VAWC) prior and after the order of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the pandemic.
PCol. Tomboc said during a live TV interview on Sunday that reported VAWC cases in the country had slightly increased between 5 to 14% from the period before and after the lockdown. “Ibig sabihin nito na mayroon nang nagpunta sa police station upang mag-report ng abuses na nangyari sa panahon ng ECQ,” (This means people are slowly going to police stations to report abuses that happened during the ECQ).
According to the national data of abuses collated by the PNP-WCPC, from the first week of June, violence against women (VAW) cases reached 2,131 and as of June 17 when the ECQ was lifted, the number increased to 2,246 or an addition of 115 cases. On the same period, the number of violence against children (VAC) cases was 1,899 and increased to 2,272 or an addition of 273 cases.
The lady officer clarified that their recording is based on the date of incident and not on the date of reporting and she acknowledged the difficulty of the people to report incidents of abuse because of the lockdown. “Ang assumption namin ay nahihirapan ang mga biktima na magsumbong sa police dahil sa ECQ lockdown. At ang lahat na kasong ito ay nasa imbestigasyon na at may nasampahan na ng kakulang kaso sa husgado,” (It is our assumption that victims have difficulty of reporting the incidents to the police because of the ECQ lockdown. All cases are under investigation and some cases are now filed in court).
She further said that most VAW cases before the ECQ happened in Region 7 (consisting of four provinces – Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor), and in the NCR. But after the lockdown, most VAW cases came from Region 7 and Region 6 (consisting of six provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental).
On the other hand, most VAC cases before the ECQ happened in NCR and Region 7. But after the ECQ, most VAC cases came from Region 7, Region 3 (consisting of 7 provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales), and in the NCR.
Most cases are in violation of R.A. 9262 or the anti-VAW and their children act; and R.A. 7610 or the children special protection act. “The most common abuse for both women are rape and acts of lasciviousness,” PCol. Tomboc concluded.
