Man wanted for 19 rapes falls in Pasay

A 27-year-old man charged with 19 counts of rape was arrested by Pasay City policemen the other day while he was playing basketball.

The accused, Phobie Odon, had been in hiding for the last three years, said Chief Inspector Rey Ulic, head of the Pasay City police Warrants and Arrest Division.

The arrest warrant against Odon was issued by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 109 Judge Lilia Lopez last month.

Odon was arrested at around 3:30 p.m. while playing basketball along Salud Street.

Ulic said informants tipped the authorities about Odon’s presence in the area.

According to Ulic, Odon was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl whom he reportedly met and befriended at the Star City amusement park at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex just before Christmas in 1999.

"They could have made it their meeting place because we were informed that one of the incidents allegedly happened in a dimly-lit place in the area," Ulic said.

The girl’s father, a resident of Blumenritt, Manila, found out about her ordeal and filed a complaint with the city prosecutor’s office.

Ulic said that upon learning that a complaint was filed against him, Odon immediately went into hiding.

Odon is now detained at the Pasay City jail. – Nikko Dizon