A resident of San Andres town listed as the number two Most Wanted Person in the province was finally arrested last week in barangay Wagdas.
The successful apprehension of the accused, identified only as Jo, 29, and a resident of Bon-ot, was conducted by elements of the San Andres Municipal Police Station in an operation last Mar. 5, 2026.
The arrest was made pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by the Virac Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 43 in connection with two (2) counts of statutory rape filed against the accused under Article 266-A (1)(d) in relation to Article 266-B of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act 11648.
The accused was taken to the Juan M. Alberto Memorial District Hospital for medical examination and underwent booking procedure at the police station.
According to the police, the arrest is proof of the authorities’ unceasing effort to maintain peace and order in the community and bring fugitives to justice.
Enacted in 2022, RA 11648 raised the age of sexual consent from 12 to 16 years old, making it a crime pf statutory rape for an adult to engage in sexual activity with someone under 16, even if the minor says yes.
However, to avoid unfairly punishing teenage couples, the law includes a “close-in-age” exemption: if both individuals are at least 13 but below 16, and the age difference is 3 years or less, it is not statutory rape – but only if the act is proven consensual, non-exploitative, and non-abusive.
The exemption does not apply if the older teen holds a position of authority (e.g., teacher, guardian) and there is coercion, manipulation, or exploitation.
However, if one party is under 13, there is no exemption and any sexual act is automatically considered rape.
Violators may be meted reclusion perpetua or imprisonment of 20 to 40 years without parole, with harsher penalties if the abuser is a parent, guardian, teacher or person in authority, and there is violence, intimidation or abuse of trust involved.