BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – A retired principal of Jaro National High School is set to face court trial.
Dr. Belinda Venus Dinopol is accused of allegedly forcing her former house helper to work against her will.
The Office of the Iloilo City Prosecutor determined that there is “reasonable certainty of conviction” for grave coercion under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code.
This provision penalizes anyone who, without legal authority, compels another person to do something against their will, whether it be an act, omission, or a course of action.
“Considering that all the elements of coercion are attendant in this case, there is prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction that the respondent (Belinda V.) Dinopol could be indicted of the crime of grave coercion,” read the resolution penned by Assistant City Prosecutor Victoria Heler.
If found guilty, Dinopol could face penalties in line with the amendments introduced by Section 72 of Republic Act 10951, which updated the fines and values associated with certain crimes.
The case stemmed from the complaints filed by the two siblings and mother of Jolean Valentin for alleged violation of Republic Act 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003), Republic Act 7610 (Anti-Child Abuse Law), Republic Act 9231 (Child Labor Law), and coercion
Valentin’s siblings, Gerardo and Rosale, and her mother, Hermina, executed their affidavits accusing Dinopol of causing mental abuse.
Jolean, 19, took her own life last July 16, 2023, and her family members blamed Dinopol for allegedly mentally maltreating her while the victim was in her custody.
ALLEGATIONS
In her affidavit, Valentin’s mother, Herminia said her daughter was overjoyed when she received a call from Dinopol who offered the victim to work as a house helper in her residence.
Herminia said she overheard from her daughter that her job as a house helper would be “easy.” Apart from sending her to school, Herminia said Dinopol also promised to give her daughter allowance.
“When she (Jolean) started her school, she was always orally defamed and she wanted to leave Ma’am Dinopol,” said Herminia.
During her stay in the house of Dinopol, Herminia said she noticed her daughter’s sudden loss of weight.
“There were times that she was deprived of eating meals and she just fed herself bananas and she can only have decent meals at the school canteen paid for by her brother,” said Herminia in her affidavit.
When Jolean was hospitalized and after her death, Herminia said Dinopol never reached out to them to express her sympathy.
The mother said she was upset with what happened to her daughter, adding that Jolean would have been alive had Dinopol just treated her humanely.
Jolean’s siblings, Gerardo and Rosale, also executed their affidavits corroborating the statements of their mother.
In his affidavit, Gerardo said Jolean told him that she wanted to stop working for Dinopol due to unbearable workloads.
Rosale echoed Gerardo’s statement, saying her sister shared with her the struggles and mental suffering while working with Dinopol.
DENIAL
Replying to the charges, Dinopol insisted that she did not threaten Jolean, nor did she use force, coercion, or abduction when she accepted Jolean to work for them.
In fact, Dinopol said she treated Jolean with respect because she willingly spent for her studies and even allowed the latter to join family events, occasions, and even out-of-town vacations.
She said she considered Jolean as part of their family when she was with them and that she never mistreated or abused Jolean.
In the resolution, Prosecutor Heler dismissed for lack of prima facie evidence the complaints for violation of Republic Act 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003), Republic Act 7610 (Anti-Child Abuse Law), Republic Act 9231 (Child Labor Law) against Dinopol.
SUFFICIENT PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE
But the prosecutor noted there is sufficient prima facie evidence that Dinopol hired Jolean to work as kasambahay or domestic helper in their household while she attended school as a senior high school student at the Jaro National High School.
The prosecutor noted that Dinopol prevented Jolean from returning home and that she threatened Jolean with physical harm if she went with her sibling.
She was also threatened with being reported to the police by Dinopol if Jolean would leave without them.
Dinopol allegedly threatened Jolean that she would tell the police that she stole their valuables. Such scared and intimidated Jolean who was then hopeless that she could still go home to her family. “That in preventing Jolean from going home to her family, the respondent had no lawful right to do so,” the prosecutor said./PN
