The common forms of GBV in Municipality of Sibuco are the following: economic
abuse, “pagbubugbog” and rape. As they have observed, there is an increase of
rape cases prior to the pandemic and most of the GBV cases victims are women
farmers and are members of an IP tribe. According to MSWDO, almost all of the
cases pass through the IP settlement system of their respective tribe. This was
corroborated by the ABC President. Accordingly, if ever the case reached the
Barangay or the PNP there is already an IP Settlement, and it is endorsed to the
respective Office where it is filed. The ABC President explained further that IP
settlement can be availed of depending on the gravity of the case. It is noteworthy,
that according to MSWDO they have a problem also on teenage pregnancy but most
of which leads to Marriage as it is allowed in their culture.
The challenges faced by Sibuco in addressing GBV did not change even with the
pandemic. Their main area of concern as of the moment is the victim’s access to
justice as most of their road are still under developed, although the Mayor reiterated
that they are already working on it. As of the moment, in some areas construction is
ongoing but he also identified that given the fact Sibuco has vast geographical area
with untouched natural resources there will be Barangays that will have to wait
before their road network will be developed. Given such circumstances it is a big
challenge to the victim-survivor to access to justice, as reporting such cases would
take a great deal of effort and time on their end. If and when they were able to report
the case in to PNP, inquest proceedings are held in MCTC Sindangan, Zamboanga
del Norte which is about 6-8 hours of travel via Zamboanga City. Although there is
an alternate route which would take them half of the travel time such road network is
not yet accessible as of the moment as it is thick with mud or rock and/or land/rock
slide is prevalant in the area. MSWDO also encountered an instance where victimsurvivor lacks legal documents such as valid ID’s and birth certificate, considering
most of the victims are farmers they are not aware of the importance such
documents or how to secure one. MSWDO further emphasized that they do not have
shelter for victim-survivor, they have to send the victim to DSWD Rehabilitation
Center in Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte which will entail again about 8-10 hours of
travel. Given also that the victims are indigents who have no legal documents such
as ID and Birth Certificate which are necessary for their referral in the shelter, their
remedy as of the moment is to apply for a baptismal certificate. Financial constraints
also play a big factor for the victim-survivor to report the case or not. Given the time,
effort and cost they need in reporting the case they would rather choose to earn a
living. The average fare for the “habal-habal” is around P100.00 as it is the only
means of transportation in the area.
According to the PNP-WCPD Sibuco and as observed also by MSWDO there are no
increase of GBV case during the pandemic but is alarmed over the increase of rape
cases, even during the ECQ they were able to record a case of rape. Lintangan and
Malayal are the identified Barangay in Sibuco were most of the rape cases were
reported, as per PNP records for 2020 they were able to record and file 6 cases of
rape. The sad reality is as per PNP most of the mothers or partners of the
perpetrators side with the suspect rather their child (victim). As such it creates, a fear
that “balikan sila ng suspect.” On that account the Local PNP-WCPD and even the