“I think that the enormous emphasis on violence and sex, and in particular violent sex, may not make rapists of us all, but it predisposes us to accept a kind of world in which these things happen.” –Alexander Walker

I knew of at least four Iloilo mayors accused of rape when I covered the Capitol beat in the early 1990s.
One of them, a former ex-convict from the fifth congressional district who ran for governor and lost, victimized a minor who went on to become a lawyer. Another one was a “gambling lord” in the second congressional district and abandoned his wife after allegedly molesting his niece. The third, from the fourth district, only finished elementary school, always carried a firearm, and allegedly raped his wife’s sister (who would later “consent” to being his lover).
As for the fourth, he was also from the second district and his rape case became part of his reelection campaign. The victim, like another suspected rapist, was his niece.
Two weeks before the rape case blew up, I visited the mayor at his home with former Senator John Osmeña. We monitored two other rape cases involving prominent political figures who were never prosecuted due to their influence and power.
I recalled these cases when I learned the Iloilo Provincial Board recently passed a resolution urging Iloilo mayors to take action against the “alarming” number of rape cases in the province.
According to Board Member June Mondejar, who penned the resolution, most cases recorded by the Iloilo Police Provincial Office last year were incestuous in nature. She wants mayors to initiate programs and measures to prevent all forms of sexual abuse in their respective municipalities.
While it is a good move, most rapists have serious psychological issues that no amount of programs can scare or stop. In fact, it has been proven that even the death penalty does not deter rapists from fulfilling their compulsion.
It is doubtful mayors or local law enforcement can stop rapists.
As Latin poet Juvenal once posed: “Quis custodiet ipsos custodies (Who will guard the guards)?”

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Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ