Patidongan’s alleged rape victim worried over slow movement of case

The alleged rape victim of Julie Dondon Patidongan is worried about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lack of action on her complaints.

In a "24 Oras" report by Sandra Aguinaldo on Friday, the victim said that she was raped by Patidongan between 2021 and 2023, when she was only 16 years old, and had filed eight counts of rape against him.

However, her camp is now raising concerns over the outcome of the preliminary investigation after he was named a state witness in the missing sabungeros case.

The victim's camp also noted that the preliminary investigation seemed to be moving slowly, with the case being processed by a provincial prosecutor in Santa Cruz, Laguna on August 2025 before it was transferred to the DOJ after Patidongan was named a state witness.

DOJ’s first preliminary investigation was only conducted in December 2025.

“Ang lagi sinasabi ng complainant, nasa ilalim yung respondent na si Julie Patidongan, sa witness protection program ng DOJ… and hindi mawala sa isip niya na baka maulit yung nangyari noon na tumagal yung pagdinig sa kaso niya. Hindi lang mabaon sa limot yung kaso na isinampa ng ating complainant,” said lawyer Glessa Rose Janolino. 

(The complainant said that respondent Julie Patidongan is under the DOJ’s witness protection program… and she couldn’t stop thinking that there might be a repeat of what happened before when the hearings on her case took too long. Our complainant just wants to make sure that her case does not sink into oblivion.)

“Sumulat po kami sa DOJ para mapilitan sila na ilabas kung nasaan man o hanapin yung records na sinasabi nila. Naka-receive kami ng notice of hearing, yung initial na preliminary investigation sa DOJ and sinet ito nung December 18, 2025. So yun po yung unang beses na nagkaroon ng preliminary investigation sa DOJ. So kung titignan natin, medyo matagal yung naging aksyon,” she added.

(We wrote to the DOJ to force them to release or look for the records. We received a notice of hearing on the initial preliminary investigation of the DOJ, and it was set for December 18, 2025. That was the first time the DOJ had a preliminary investigation. If we look into it, the actions took too long.)

The victim’s camp had coordinated with the Citizens’ Crime Watch, who had called out the DOJ regarding “preferential treatment” being given to Patidongan.

GMA Integrated News has reached out to the DOJ and Patidongan for comment, but they have yet to respond. —Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/ LDF, GMA Integrated News