CPNP TO PROBE RAPE COMPLAINT VS. KABATAAN PL

PHILIPPINE National Police Chief PGen. Nicolas Torre assured that the rape allegations aired by a woman activist by some officers of the Kabataan Partylist (KPL) would be investigated by his office.

Torre made the assurance in a message to Pinoy Exposé on June 8, after being asked about the issue and a day after the KPL claimed it has “expelled” one of its members accused by the victim of raping her. the group also claimed it has been conducting an “internal investigation” on the matter.

“Yes Sir, we will investigate,” was Torre’s brief but meaningful reply as he also assured that his response can be quoted by the media.

In a clear show of frustration and anger, the alleged victim went to social media starting on June 2 and claimed she was a rape victim thrice over inside the organization under the FB name, ‘Maria Kara.’

Kara alleged that she was a victim of rape on 3 different occasions since 2023 by three different leaders of KPL.

“Kabataan Partylist National, puwede ba bago ninyo prayoridarin ang recruitment siguraduhin ninyong maayos konsolidasyon ninyo sa mga naunang miyembyo?!

“Hindi yung halos hindi kayo magkandaugaga lahat sa recruitment pero halos mamatay yung miyembro ninyong ginahasa ng sarili ninyong miyembro rin,” Kara said in one of her earlier posts.

She also named one of her alleged abusers as a certain ‘Justin Barrientos’ whom she described as a KPL “active organizer” but also an “opportunist” and “sexual harasser.”

“Kung may magkahiwalay lang na accommodation ang babae at lalaki, supervision, at security protocol sa konsepto ng shared living for centralized members, edi sana sa workspace pa lang maiiwasan na ang pangmamanyak sa akin ni Justin Barrientos!”

Kara also claimed that no less than 20 others were victims of sexual abuse inside the KPL.

Going through her posts, it appears that the last attack against her took place last April but she was dismayed that instead of help, she was even eyed as ‘lazy’ (“idle”) for not participating in KPL activities, unmindful of the trauma the repeated sexual attacks caused.

Kara’s plight finally gained traction after it was published as an article by the Philippine Daily Inquirer last June 3.

Ironically, among the first to caught attention over Kara’s allegations against KPL and called for justice is Duterte Youth chair, Ronald Cardema and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has suspended the proclamation of the Duterte Youth despite emerging as the second most voted partylist in the May 12 midterm polls due to the disqualification case filed by the KPL, a complaint that was thrown out as far back as 2020 by the Supreme Court.

The KPL is also among the front organizations of the CPP in Congress calling for the dismantling of the NTF-ELCAC.

In a social media video post, Cardema questioned the silence of KPL and GABRIELA, another CPP front in Congress on the allegations of Kara while always staging rallies and protest actions to defend youth and women’s rights.

“A member of the KPL is asking for help from the COMELEC and the Senate after she was raped by their leaders and is being ignored by both Kabataan and GABRIELA. Why are they not speaking out? This is the issue they must confront,” Cardema pointed out in the video clip aired by the SMNI News Channel.

For its part, the NTF-ELCAC pointed out that not only sexual violence against their own members but evidence pointing out to the KPL and GABRIELA as recruiters for the terrorist New People’s Army (NPA), the armed group of the CPP, should be sufficient to expel the KPL and GABRIELA in the partylist system, citing in particular the death last April of former KPL spokesperson, Jhon Isidor ‘Dee’ Supelanas as an NPA fighter, after a firefight in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental.

“The death of Jhon Isidor “Dee” Supelanas—former spokesperson of Kabataan Partylist (KPL) in Cebu—in a firefight in Kabankalan last April, is not an isolated tragedy.

“It is part of a disturbing pattern involving youth leaders who begin their journey in legal activist spaces and end in armed encounters as members of the NPA.

“The same painful trajectory has been traced in the cases of several former Gabriela Women’s Partylist (GWP) leaders who, too, left behind the “parliament of the streets” only to resurface as armed combatants,” NTF-ELCAC Undersecretary Ernesto ‘Jun’ Torres said.

“And more recently, another shadow has darkened this picture: the emergence of sexual assault allegations involving leaders of Kabataan Partylist, spanning cases from 2023 through 2025. “According to the victim, at least 20 others suffered the same fate as her.

“While Kabataan previously issued a generic condemnation of gender-based violence, it failed to admit that some perpetrators came from their own ranks.

“This omission raises serious questions about accountability and a culture of impunity being perpetuated within their circles.

“The Commission on Elections cannot look away. We urge the Commission to take a principled stance by urgently hearing the case filed against the Kabataan Partylist and subsequently suspending its proclamation; and reviving the long-dormant disqualification proceedings against Gabriela Women’s Partylist.

“This is not suppression, but due diligence, an interim safeguard while facts are verified and testimonies assessed,” Torres added further.

For its part, the KPL was forced to issue a belated statement on June 7 claiming it had already “expelled” Justine James Barrientos, the person accused by Kara of raping her and that it has conducted an “internal investigation” on the matter.

Interestingly, the group was silent in allowing the proper government agencies, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to conduct an independent investigation so that proper charges can be filed in court.