BEHIND BARS. Emmanuel Mulawan during his confinement at the JR Borja Memorial General Hospital. (PHOTO BY NITZ ARANCON)
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By NITZ ARANCON, Correspondent

FOR over a year now, Cagayan de Oro bulk water supply project whistleblower Emmanuel Mulawan Sr. has been languishing at a prison facility in Cavite, waiting for a court to rule on the alleged rape of a manicurist which, he maintained, never happened.

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Mulawan’s family here is suffering, emotionally and financially. His 23-year old son and namesake Emmanuel Jr. has found himself becoming the man of the house, taking care of his mother and augmenting whatever money she could raise as a market vendor, and sending his siblings–Art, 21, Lady Joy, 19–to school.

“Ang nagbuhi namo karon, ang akong makagulangan nga anak kay wala man si Manny,” said the elder Mulawan’s wife Sonny.

“Ang ako ra gyung junior nga si Bembem (Emmanuel Jr.) ang nagpalit namo ug pagka-on,  bayad sa tubig ug kuryuente, ug iya pa gyud nga gipa-eskuwela ang iyang duha ka manghod. Siya lagi ang nahimong  tatay sa among pamilya karon.”

Sonny operates a small sari-sari store at the Carmen public market which, she said, has not been earning enough for her family. There were times, she said, when Emmanuel Jr. would give her money because she was left with no choice but use the store’s capital. “Lisod lagi kaayo among kahimtang,” she said.

Sonny said she has been praying that her husband would be found innocent by the Cavite court so he could return, reunite with the family, and live a normal life.

Mulawan has been placed under detention at a prison facility in Dasmariñas, Cavite where he is being tried in connection with a rape case. He was arrested by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) at his home on Dabatian Street, Carmen in February 2015.

Mulawan has strongly denied what he called as trumped-up rape charges filed to get back at him for going public with allegations of irregularities in some of the transactions in the Cagayan de Oro Water District (COWD), including its multimillion-peso bulk supply water deal with Rio Verde Water Consortium.

Mulawan and his lawyers said the fact that his biometric records at the COWD show that he was in Cagayan de Oro the day his accuser claimed she was raped in Cavite is enough proof of innocence. Mulawan is a draftsman at the COWD, and the firm’s workers’ union has thrown its support for him.

Judge Perla Fallar of the Regional Trial Court Branch 92 in Cavite has scheduled the cross examination of the alleged rape victim on Wednesday, June 15.

The prosecutor has  presented  the evidence against Mulawan in May 4, following an ultimatum issued by Judge Fallar.

Sonny said she was informed by Mulawan’s lawyer Earl Santos that the accuser failed to show up in court for the nth time during the May hearing because she, supposedly, was suffering from urinary tract infection.

Sonny said Mulawan and their family were left with no choice but wait for the court to act.

“Naniwang baya siya didto  kay daghan ilang trabaho ug kanunay lang kuno   linugaw ilang  ka-on,” Sonny said.

But if it’s any consolation, Mulawan is in a dormitory-type prison facility, and not in a cell.

“Na-ay ilang kaugalingong TV ug comfort room, ug maka-gawas  gawas siya sa ilang dorm pero na-a ra sulod sa ilang compound,” she said.

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