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3 Filipinas, 1 Nigerian charged with kidnapping in 'sale of baby girl' to pay off 'e-sabong' debts

Philippines | National

3 Filipinas, 1 Nigerian charged with kidnapping in 'sale of baby girl' to pay off 'e-sabong' debts

By Jeffrey Damicog

National Bureau of Investigation

A kidnapping complaint has been filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against four persons, one of them a Nigerian national, for their alleged involvement in the sale of a nine-month-old baby girl so the mother of the child could pay her debts incurred during “e-sabong” or online cockfighting.

Named respondents were Nigerian national Ifeanyi Okoro and Filipino women Imelda Malibiran, Kristine Joyce Esdrelon and Rosemarie Gutierrez.

The complaint was filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after the rescue of the baby girl last Tuesday, March 22, in Calamba City, Laguna.

Okoro and Malibiran were arrested by the NBI during the rescue operation. Esdrelon and Gutierrez remain at large.

The respondents were charged with kidnapping in violation of the Revised Penal Code (RPC); violation of Republic Act 7610, the Special Protection Against Children Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination and for Other Purposes; and violation of RA 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA 10364, for qualified trafficking.

The 22-year-old mother of the baby had earlier sought the help of the NBI in getting the child back to her. The mother admitted selling her baby for P45,000 to pay her gambling debts after she got addicted to “e-sabong.”

After selling her child, the mother said she had a change of heart and sought her baby back.

Operatives of the NBI’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD) was able to track down the whereabouts of the baby who was found with the Nigerian national and his girlfriend.

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