RP congressman charged with rape

RP congressman charged with rape

MANILA (AFP): A Philippine congressman was yesterday charged by government prosecutors with the rape of an 11 year-old girl, a court official said.

Romeo Jalosjos, a congressman for the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte, was charged with two counts of rape and 12 counts of acts of lasciviousness, said Roberto Mendoza, administrative officer for criminal cases at the Makati regional trial court. Jalosjos has denied the charges.

Newspaper reports yesterday quoted sources from the Justice Department said prosecutors as saying they accepted the girl's testimony that Jalosjos paid her father 5,000 pesos (US$192) to have sex with her. Other unspecified payments were alleged to have been made.

The incidents allegedly occurred several times in 1996. Statutory rape carries a sentence of life imprisonment, while acts of lasciviousness merit 14 to 30 years in prison for every count.