By Jennifer P. Rendon
The incident that caused alarm among residents of Calinog, Iloilo, was a lover’s quarrel, not an abduction, according to local police.
“It was a fight between a married couple,” confirmed Major Myles Dieron, Calinog police chief.
The vehicle involved in the alleged abduction led police to the driver, a resident of Bingawan, Iloilo.
Thanks to residents who noted the vehicle’s plate number, authorities traced the vehicle’s owner to Cabatuan town. The owner, now living abroad, had left the vehicle in his brother’s care.
“I had a video call with the owner. He claimed to have left the vehicle with his brother,” Dieron said.
The unnamed brother was driving the vehicle when the alleged abduction occurred on June 30. He was accompanied by a carpenter and the carpenter’s wife.
On Tuesday, the brother explained to the Calinog Municipal Police Station that the couple had a fight while he was driving.
The next day, the woman, identified as Nenen, showed up at the police station bearing signs of physical abuse and confirmed the fight.
Nenen recounted that her husband, Robert, got angry after she left a drinking session with his co-workers in Barangay Cubay, Lambunao, to join a friend for karaoke without his permission.
“They fought because her husband was jealous,” Dieron said.
The argument escalated to physical violence. The vehicle’s driver allegedly encouraged Robert to “discipline” his wife.
Nenen tried to escape by opening the pick-up truck door and asking for help when the vehicle passed Delgado Street in Calinog around 9 p.m. on Sunday. Several motorcycle riders attempted to chase the vehicle but stopped when a bald man, armed with a bolo, got out of the vehicle, deterring them from approaching further.
The vehicle then sped off towards Bingawan town.
“So, the alleged abduction is a case closed. We are now waiting for the woman to pursue a case against her husband,” Dieron said.
Robert could face charges under Republic Act 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004).
