The ninth level

The rape case at Maguindanao where a voluntary nurse was initially thought to be gang-raped has taken a turn for the better.

DNA has been recovered from the victim, and it apparently belongs to a single person. With this, the six initially arrested and detained as suspects have been freed, as the DNA did not belong to any of them.

A man, an old man, has actually confessed to the crime, but has tested negative as well. Almost everyone who had any connection whatsoever to the crime has been tested and turned out negative. That leaves an unknown assailant. But from the looks of it, he won't be unknown for long.

The DOJ is now focusing on the Vice-Mayor of South Upi, Maguindanao. He was one of the earlier ones questioned, and has even offered his DNA sample at the early stages of the investigation. The DOJ is now taking him up on his offer but as of this writing, he hasn't made himself available.

If this were a CSI episode, I'd say that the case is already half-solved, with Grissom already tending to his insects and Horatio Caine executing his signature removal of his sunglasses.

DNA is indisputable. It is even better than a fingerprint. Which is why in the advent of DNA testing and matching, crimes have become easier to solve, at least in developed nations.

But this is Maguindanao. With all the bad things coming out of this province, it might as well be the ninth level of Dante's hell.

We have the Maguindanao massacre where fifty-seven persons were brutally executed. We have killings left and right, more often than not politically motivated. And then we have the rape of volunteers.

Volunteers by simple right should be immune to these crimes, as they are there to help without remuneration. Just like the Red Cross volunteers who were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf criminals, who did not deserve in any way the ordeal they went through.

They should never come back to help such a lawless place! Sometimes, one has to discern who are even worth helping at all.

The DOJ should declare the Vice-Mayor of South Upi as a suspect. His actions of not voluntarily submitting himself for DNA testing should already warrant that. Nothing to hide, then nothing to fear. Perhaps with DNA, there is.