An eight-year-old boy was beaten by his own mother and grandmother for not coming home on time in Rodriguez, Rizal on Tuesday, Feb. 18, the Rodriguez Rizal Police said.
In a now viral video taken by their neighbors, the boy's mom was seen dragging and hitting her son multiple times on the head and other parts of his body while he was screaming and begging for her to stop.
She was then heard threatening her son that she will strangle him if he continues to scream and refrain from going back home.
The boy's grandmother then came and helped his mom drag him back to their house while hitting the boy three times with her slippers.
The seven-minute long video was then reported to the barangay personnel who in turn reported the incident to the police.
Based on the initial investigation, the boy was tasked by his parents to buy cigarettes from a store but did not come back home the whole afternoon.
"Simula umaga hindi daw bumalik 'yung bata and sa tingin ko, nagastos 'yung pambili ng sigarilyo at naipambili ng pogs. So 'yung bata natakot at nahanap nung kanyang magulang ng mga bandang 5 na ng hapon (The boy didn't come home the whole morning and has spent the money given to him for cigarettes to purchase pogs. The boy became scared and did not come home. He was found by his parents at around 5 p.m. already," Rodriguez Rizal Police chief Lt. Col. Paul Macasa Sabulao said.
The boy's mom explained that she hurt her son due to fatigue from looking for him while she is three-month pregnant.
When she saw her son, the boy ran away from her instead of approaching her, causing her to snap and hit the boy.
Witnesses say the boy was usually beaten by his mom whenever she gets angry, prompting them to record the abuse.
Sabulao said both the boy's mom and his grandma are now under the custody of the police and are facing charges of child abuse and physical abuse.
Meanwhile, the boy was turned over to the City Social Welfare and Development.