NBI asks Maguindanao exec to cooperate in probe into nurse's rape

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has asked the Vice-Mayor of South Upi, Maguindanao to submit himself to forensic testing as part of the probe into the rape of a volunteer nurse last month. NBI director Magtanggol Gatdula said Vice-Mayor Jordan Ibrahim has until the end of the day to allow government investigators to get his DNA sample. "We'll give the vice mayor up to [Friday]," said Gatdula, who admitted that the NBI cannot coerce Ibrahim into being investigated. However, earlier, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said if Ibrahim refuses to submit himself to an investigation, he may be considered a suspect. She noted that Ibrahim previously agreed to have his samples taken but his lawyer reportedly discouraged him from doing so because he was not yet formally named as a suspect. NBI findings showed that nurse "Florence" (not her real name) may not have been gang-raped on September 26. She explained that a DNA test conducted on the victim only yielded "one DNA profile" of a still unknown rapist. She said added that the profile of the rapist did not match the DNA samples of six men previously accused and that of Melchor Fulgencio, who claimed to have raped the nurse but later retracted his statement. De Lima also said witnesses refuse to come out and pin Ibrahim for the crime because he is allegedly a local warlord in South Upi town. –VVP, GMANews.TV