CEBU CITY – A couple here sold their 22-day-old baby for P30,000 to be able to allegedly buy illegal drugs.
THE baby sold by her parents for P100,000 in Cebu City. (Contributed photo)
The live-in partners from Barangay Duljo-Fatima here are facing serious charges for the offense which was discovered through one of their children.
Police Lt. Col. Maria Theresa Macatangay, deputy city director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office, said the baby was sold for at least P100,000.
The couple got P30,000 while the middleman got P57,000 while the remaining amount was used to pay the hospital bill.
The baby was born on Feb. 20 at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC). The mother and the baby stayed at the hospital until March 6 after the baby developed complications.
The illegal act was discovered when the couple was arrested on March 7 while playing a card game locally known as tong-its outside their house.
After the couple was arrested, one of their daughters told their neighbors her parents promised her a new cell phone after her newborn sibling was sold.
Shocked by what they learned, neighbors reported to barangay officials, who coordinated with the city Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS).
In a follow-up operation, police rescued the baby from the buyers in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
Initial investigation showed that the baby was sold to a nurse married to a military officer.
The couple has seven children and authorities learned that the mother has confessed to previously selling her seventh child.
It was believed that illegal drug use had something to do with the couple’s decision to sell their child.
The couple is detained at Cebu City Jail while the seven children, including the recovered baby, have been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
A deeper investigation to identify other individuals involved in the illegal act will be conducted by CCPO Women and Children’s Protection Desk, the DSWS, and the CCMC management.
Dr. Anton Oliver Reposar II, CCMC chief, said that the hospital has nothing to do with the incident.
“It’s true that the child was born in CCMC but after they were discharged, we are not privy anymore of what happened. The transaction happened after the discharge,” Reposar said in a MyTVCebu report.
Reposar said that the CCMC has strict security protocols that would not allow such transactions to materialize inside the hospital.
Not everyone, including the members of the media, can easily enter the hospital, Reposar said.