Sadly, sexual harassment is a common occurrence for Filipino women who regularly use public transportation. Most of the time, these incidents remain unnoticed, but here’s a story that shows why it’s important to speak up.
In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday, 25- year-old Anne Payuan shared how a man whom she — and police — identified as “Eljiro Mendoza” allegedly groped her while inside a bus on her way to Laguna.
In a Facebook message to Coconuts Manila, Payuan said the incident happened at about 9-10am on Monday.
“A guy in his 20s asked to sit beside me. It was kind of weird because there were so many vacant seats and my bags were on the seat beside me. But of course, I still let him sit. He kept smiling at me, but I ignored him,” Payuan’s first tweet reads in Filipino and English.
https://twitter.com/annepayuan/status/1001461418275749888
She then decided to sleep, only to be woken up by Mendoza who allegedly offered his shoulder for her to sleep on.
Payuan rejected his offer, but said that at that point, Mendoza allegedly insisted and started to get physical.
“I said NO and went back to sleep. [A] few minutes later, he was slowly pulling my head closer to his shoulder, he attempted to do this 4 times. I was already feeling a bit scared,” she wrote.
https://twitter.com/annepayuan/status/1001461892148219904
Naturally, Payuan freaked out and decided to stay awake. But she said Mendoza kept harassing her.
“He was so brave he even put his arm around me. He kept smiling. I told him to remove his hand [from my body]. He then kissed my shoulder. I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t panic,” she said.
https://twitter.com/annepayuan/status/1001462645206147072
Eventually, Payuan said she felt something touch her breast. This prompted her to take her phone out and secretly record what was happening.
In one of the videos Payuan posted on Twitter, Mendoza can be seen repeatedly looking at her as she pretends to sleep. He then rests his head on her seat before allegedly groping her again.
“He took a polo [shirt] from his bag and covered himself. I pretended to sleep. I could feel him coming closer. Then I suddenly felt something on my breast. It was the jerk’s hand,” Payuan tweeted.
https://twitter.com/annepayuan/status/1001470035553009664
At this point, Payuan said she got scared and started to scream. Her next few tweets recounted how other bus passengers helped her get away from the harasser.
“The bus driver and the conductor looked for a police post. Then they dropped us off there. A police mobile came to pick us up and bring us to the police station,” Payuan told Coconuts Manila.
She said Mendoza continued to deny her allegations. His family, Payuan said, even tried to convince her to not press charges.
They allegedly tried to intimidate her, saying that she had no evidence the harassment happened and that it would only cost her money.
But she persisted.
“I said NO, I will press charges. So I pushed through with it even if we have to spend the whole day there.”
Here’s the good news: Payuan’s persistence paid off.
https://twitter.com/annepayuan/status/1001473986302115840
Mendoza was jailed for unjust vexation and is still at the Calamba Police Station. PO3 Angelito Reyes of the Calamba Police Station confirmed this in a phone call with Coconuts Manila.
But Payuan did not stop there.
On Tuesday, a day after the incident, she went back to the police station to file an Act of Lasciviousness case against him, a much graver offense.
Payuan said she is still waiting to hear back about when the hearing will be scheduled.
https://twitter.com/annepayuan/status/1001474804120141824
Payuan commutes at least once a week and shared that this was not the first time she was sexually harassed in a bus.
“The first time was Christmas Eve last year. I was on my way to Manila when a guy sitting behind me at the bus reached and touched my right breast,” she told Coconuts Manila.
“I [screamed], not because I was brave, but because I was shocked there was a hand on my breast. He stood up, shouted at me, and ran really fast. The passengers tried to run after him but he was able to get away,” she recalled.
This time around, Payuan did not want her harasser to get away. When asked what gave her the courage to pursue charges, she said it was to set a good example for her younger sister.
“My dad arrived at the [police station] with my 7-year-old little sister. My sister almost cried and hugged me tight when she saw me arguing with Ejiro’s (the alleged harasser) family.
“I didn’t want my sister to grow up thinking anyone can just do things like this to her and get away with it. She kept tapping my back [every time] I speak up (sic).
She’s young but I knew I had her support. I wanted her to know that she can stand up for herself, defend herself, while doing the right thing.”
Payuan’s act reached a lot more than just her sister.
As of this article’s posting, her first tweet had 10,000 likes, close to 6,000 retweets, and more than 208 replies.
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