Rape charges vs priest dismissed again

A REGIONAL trial court in Compostela Valley, southern Philippines dismissed on Wednesday a rape case filed by a 26-year-old woman against a Catholic priest, reversing an order from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to have him indicted.

Judge Hilarion Clapis Jr. of 11th Regional Trial Court branch 3 ruled against the DOJ order to file the rape case against Father Melvin Dela Cuesta of the Diocese of Tagum before the said court, affirming the previous ruling of two provincial prosecutors who had dismissed it in 2006 for lack of probable cause.

In August DOJ Undersecretary Leah Tanodra-Armamento ordered the re-filing of charges.

Father Dela Cuesta, after the hearing, refused interviews. “Talk to my lawyer,” the priest told reporters.

His lawyer Ruwel Peter Gonzaga told reporters Wednesday’s hearing was for the motion for judicial determination of probable cause that would determine whether or not the regional trial court should issue an arrest warrant against the accused.

A former part-time clerk of St. Therese of the Child Jesus parish in Nabunturan town in Tagum diocese said the priest had called her to massage him inside his room the night of July 23, 2006 after he arrived from a party drunk and tired.

She said she was tired and fell asleep but was roused when the priest started abusing her.

“I resisted but was overpowered,” the woman said before she burst into tears. She stepped out of the courtroom briefly when she spotted the accused priest there.

However Clapis concurred with the defense and ruled the complainant’s claim of resistance was unclear. Witnesses, including another priest, reported they did not hear any shout, commotion or unusual sounds through the thin wooden wall at the time of the alleged rape.

The complainant showed no scratches or bruises, Gonzaga noted, citing other witnesses’ testimonies saying she also engaged in sexual liaisons with her two boyfriends days after the alleged rape. The complainant has born a son with her live-in partner.

Prosecution lawyer Luwill Al-ag cited the report saying Father Dela Cuesta sought forgiveness from the complainant’s father, and asserted this indicated admission of guilt. “The sex could have been consensual,” Gonzaga countered.

Her eyes welling with tears, the woman said after the ruling, “I’m feeling hopeless. I’m feeling very weak.”

Al-ag said they would appeal the decision before the Court of Appeals, and even up to the Supreme Court.

Tagum diocese Vicar General Father Ulysses Perandas said, “We entrust everything to the court. The bishop has said, we trust the court, we trust the rule of law.”

Father Dela Cuesta is currently priest in charge of St. Michael the Archangel Quasi-parish in the mining village of Mt. Diwalwal, in Monkayo town, also in Compostela Valley.