CEBU CITY – No kidnapping incident occurred in Cebu’s southern town of Alegria but a simple act of kindness by a motorist who happened to pass by a 13-year-old schoolgirl, the provincial police chief said on Friday.
Col. Engelbert Soriano, Cebu City Police Office chief, said the incident went viral on social media after the girl alleged that a black van attempted to abduct her at about 6 a.m. on Thursday while waiting for a ride to her school in the neighboring town of Badian.
Staff Sgt. Jupiter Elarcosa, desk officer of the Alegria municipal police station, said in a radio interview that the girl took refuge in their office with her mother after the incident.
Elarcosa said the girl narrated to him that a van suddenly stopped by while she was standing on the road and the driver allegedly attempted to put a bonnet on her face but she was able to run away.
He confirmed a black van was caught by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera and the driver was identified through the plate number of the vehicle.
The desk officer said they already invited the driver and his passenger to shed light on the incident.
However, Soriano said they already identified the registered owner of the van who is in a tourist transport business.
The driver has denied attempting to abduct the girl, saying that he was just trying to have a passenger while driving the tourist van from Badian town to Cebu City.
Soriano hinted the girl could have been traumatized because of twin incidents involving a young resident who was bullied by a motor rider, and an abduction attempt of a househelp.
“Every day she goes to school, she rides a jeep, and suddenly a van stopped but she refused to hop in the van. The victim was still young. What came to her mind when she was asked if she was waiting for a ride was that something else is happening. Instead of answering no, she got very scared and ran away,” he said. (PNA)
