The mother who sold her eight-month-old daughter to pay off her “e-sabong” (online cockfighting) debts told the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) she contacted the buyer through Facebook account “Bahay Ampunan.”
Thereafter, the mother claimed that she communicated with the buyer through FB messenger.
“Their exchange and meet up transpired in the evening of March 3, 2022 in a restaurant in Quezon City,” the NBI said.
It said the mother admitted that she sold her baby for P45,000. It named the baby as “Sophia.”
“However, after delivering the baby, the mother changed her mind and realized that it was illegal to sell her child,” the NBI said.
“The mother decided to recover her baby but the buyer immediately blocked her on Facebook,” it said.
After seeking help to recover her baby, the NBI’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD) was able to track down the whereabouts of “Sophia” and rescued her last March 22 from the custody of Imelda Malibiran and her Nigerian live-in partner Maxwell Ifeanyi Bright Okoro in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.
“Subjects were presented for Inquest Proceedings before the Department of Justice for violation of Section 7 of Republic Act No. 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, in relation to RA 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012; violation of RA 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA10364, in relation to Section 6 paragraph (a) for Qualified Trafficking; and Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code,” the NBI said.
The alleged accomplices of Malibiran and Okoro who were identified as Kristine Joyce Esdrelon and Rosemarie Gutierrez are still at large, it added.