If there’s one thing I learned from my mom, is to be wary of being alone with the opposite sex.
I always used to wonder why I was the only girl who had a yaya waiting in the car when I was 22, as I partied in Subway disco or Penguin Café, back in the day.
It was much later when I found out one of my tita’s daughters was gang-raped, and a distant cousin of mine was murdered by her yaya’s boyfriend.
My mom was protecting me.
This being wary of the opposite sex is something I’ve carried on to this day, even as a married mom and homemaker.
I’m never alone when expecting the cable guy or aircon cleaner.
Whenever there are men working around the house, I make sure the maids are nearby, watching.
I remember one time when I was living alone in New York, my mouse died. As in my Apple mouse.
An Apple guy came over to replace it—for free. Not being a morning person, I looked like a total hag in my pajamas, glasses, and curly hair.
I may have brushed my teeth but hadn’t showered. I looked like the anti-rape victim.
But trust me, girls, guard yourself and don’t be alone with a stranger.
A Twitter follower of mine emailed me about his friend who was recently attacked by a Sky Cable employee who is pictured below:
Rommel Mendoza is wanted for attempted rape and homicide
Dear Chuvaness,
Thank you for replying to my tweet.
The incident happened the other night (March 13, 2013), around 8 PM at my co-worker’s apartment in Alabang, Muntinlupa.
Cable reception was bad so she called up Sky Cable to have it fixed.
The victim was alone when the cable guy arrived. He was the same cable guy who installed her cable system a month ago so she trusted him.
Things happened fast. After opening the door and letting him in, the victim directed him to her TV set.
Within seconds, the cable guy was grabbing her from the back. She felt a knife pointed at her so she didn’t move or make a noise.
She was brought to her room, her hands tied when they reached her bed. She struggled hard when she sensed rape. It was during this time that the stabbing happened. A small steel/glass table was thrown at her and hit her head. The cable guy used broken pieces of glass to further stab her. Feeling so much exhaustion she decided to play dead.
The stabbing stopped.
After the cable guy left, she took the phone that she hid under her bed and called for help.
She was brought to Asian Hospital that night. Alabang Police sent SOCO to the crime scene.
The next day, our connections in the PNP started doing their investigation. Initially, the cable guy was identified as a sub-contractual employee. But later that evening, we were given new leads that the cable guy was actually an employee of Sky Cable and not from a sub-contractor.
I posted this on Facebook and Twitter. One of the people handing the PR of Sky Cable contacted me on Facebook, requesting me to take down my entry as it’s damaging to the company’s reputation. He even told me there was no report of any incident in the cable company’s head office. It surprised me because the head of security of Sky Cable is now communicating with our boss (the victim and I work in the same company).
As of the moment, the cable guy is still at large.
The cable guy was identified as Rommel Mendoza, whose photo was supplied by his co-worker to the security department of Sky Cable.
Mendoza was positively identified by the victim yesterday morning when representatives of Sky Cable showed her the photo.
As of now, the victim is still in the hospital to undergo a series of operations for multiple stab wounds to her face down to her legs. Her lungs were deeply punctured.
Thank you.
Erik Catabas
Read also: Manhunt on for cable technician accused of attacking woman in Muntinlupa City
Originally published at Chuvaness.com. You can comment here or there.