Man saves daughters from would-be rapist, is stabbed

CEBU, Philippines - A man was stabbed by his nephew after he tried to stop him from raping his two daughters yesterday in Barangay Langtad, Argao town. 

 Jose (real name withheld to protect the identities of the minors), had to be taken to the hospital after he suffered a stab wound to the stomach inflicted by 21-year-old Mario (real name withheld), who allegedly tried to molest Jose’s 15-year-old and 17-year-old daughters.

The police said residents were awakened by a call for help past 4 a.m. following a commotion inside the house of the victims.

DyLA radio reporter Dario Gil, an Argao resident who went to the scene, said that based on his interviews, the two girls came home late after they went to a neighborhood disco the night before and slept together in a room adjacent to that of their parents.

The 15-year-old, however, woke up upon noticing a man whose face was covered with a cloth to hide his identity.  She resisted when the man came close and suffered cuts in both hands in the process.

The ensuing commotion awakened the 17-year-old girl, whom the suspect allegedly tried to strangle. 

The noise caused by the struggle also awakened Jose, who grabbed hold of the man and was rewarded with a stab wound to the stomach.

 The girls’ brothers came to their father’s rescue while the suspect managed to run away.  The brothers chased the fleeing man and got the surprise of their lives when they removed the cloth from his face and discovered that it was their first-degree cousin.

Fate was with Jose and his daughters as his sons, who were often out in the sea to fish every night, decided to sleep at the house that night.

Gil said Mario, who has a pregnant live-in partner, smelled of “rugby”, an industrial solvent that is also abused as an illegal “drug” through sniffing.

Neighbors told Gil that Mario was a known “rugby-boy” in the area and that they suspect the man was “high” when he made the attempt on his cousins.  (FREEMAN)