A 23- year-old man with special needs who went missing five years ago was finally reunited with his family in Valenzuela City on Sunday, Jan. 23.
The Bahay Kalinga Ng Valenzuela announced that through the help of a Facebook (FB) post, they were able to confirm that Reynante Manalili was the person who was reported missing in 2016.
Manalili's sister, Lorie, 27, a grocery employee, shared to Manila Bulletin how they were able to see her brother again after he suddenly left their home in Lubao, Pampanga on April 6, 2016.
"Dahil po sa kaibigan ko po, nung nagpost ako sa FB, shinare niya po and pinost din niya po (It is because of my friend who she shared my post )," Lorie said.
Lorie added that the Bahay Kalinga ng Valenzuela messaged her friend after seeing the post on Saturday, Jan. 22, asking about the missing child and showed a photo of the boy admitted in the shelter who looks like Reynante.
After confirming that the man in the photo is their lost brother, her family coordinated with the shelter to reunite with him.
Lorie said they thought Reynante would only visit their aunt as he always did on the day he went missing.
The family started to look for him when he did not return home and posted photos of him in their area.
Someone told them that Reynante was seen on a bus going to a mall in Pampanga.
After five years of searching, the Bahay Kalinga ng Valenzuela contacted them through the post.
The Bahay Kalinga ng Valenzuela, which was inaugurated in 2012, is a shelter being run by the local government to help abused and neglected children in the city.
According to Lorie, they were told that his brother was found on the streets of Valenzuela, was brought to a different shelter, and was eventually transferred to Bahay Kalinga.
Reynante is finally reunited with his family in Pampanga
"Sobrang saya po namin, lahat po kami, ang buong family, tuwang tuwa po sila na nahanap na po namin yung kapatid kong bunso (Our whole family is so happy that we found our youngest sibling)," Lorie said.