Cebu City police working to identify man who sexually harassed woman

Cebu City.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Police will be investigating an alleged sexual harassment incident wherein a man was seen in a viral video touching a female victim’s private parts in Barangay Sambag 1 in Cebu City.

According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, Deputy Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), the alleged harassment incident took place on the evening of Monday, November 6, 2023.

A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the incident was posted online by a concerned citizen, which then gained the public’s attention.

The video shows the moment when a man, wearing a blue shirt and black pair of shorts,  approached a woman walking along  Urgello Street.

READ MORE: Missing cellphone results in stabbing incident in Cebu City

The man allegedly asked his victim if she knew of any boarding house in the area before he touched her inappropriately and then ran away.

Rafter told reporters that an investigation was immediately conducted by police personnel to determine where the incident took place and to verify the information about the alleged harassment.

“Immediately tong pagakahitabo no, naningkamot dayon ta makuha kung asa ni nga location. So atong nasuta nga kani nga panghitabo was in Sambag 1,” she said.

Rafter stated that personnel of the Abellana Police Station went to the area and asked the owner of the CCTV to give them a copy of the footage of the day of the incident.

She added that the CCTV footage will be submitted for video enhancement in order to get a clear picture of the assailant’s face.

“Ang atong mga kapulisan sa Station 2 under kay Police Captain Leanza, nag coordinate karon didto sa tag-iya gyud sa CCTV to provide us a copy of it para mapa-enhance nato,” she said.

According to Rafter, they have already identified the female victim who is out of town for a family outing, as of this writing.

The victim already coordinated with police and expressed that she is determined to file a case against the assailant who harassed her.

“Mao na among gipaningkamotan karon nga mintras wala pa ang atoang biktima. Nakigcooridnate na pud siya sa atong kapulisan, iyang willingness to file the case. So mao nang kami karon, naningkamot mi nga masuta nato kung kinda gyud kini, unsay identity niining suspetsado nga kalit lang nihimo atong dili maayong buluhaton,” stated Rafter.

Same guy?

Rafter also revealed that they will be doing backtracking to find out if the man in the video is involved in other previous harassment incidents that happened in the barangay.

She said that in 2021, a report was made about an incident involving a female minor. The victim claimed that a man suddenly approached her and offered her money in exchange for letting him touch her.

The scared girl then ran away and told her parents about what happened.

Rafter said that they will be checking the assailant’s background as the description given by the minor about the man who approached her is almost the same as the man in the video.

“That’s why nga need gyud nato nga masuta gyud ni siya ug makuha nato para masuta gyud nato kung unsay background ani niya,” she stated.

Regarding speculations that the assailant could be mentally challenged, Rafter said they cannot confirm this unless the man is properly assessed by a professional.

“We cannot really say it. We cannot confirm it unless nga makuha nato siya then ma-assess gyud nato go medical expert sa mga in-anang butanga,” she said.

/bmjo