US Embassy asking about taped baby’s case
THE United States Embassy in Manila has taken an interest in the complaint about a newborn boy whose mouth was taped in a hospital to hush his loud cries and hold a pacifier.
Ryan Noval, the Fil-Am father of baby Yohannes, said he has an appointment with the Embassy on Tuesday to discuss what assistance they can provide since he is an American citizen.
Noval said he e-mailed the Embassy last Sunday and received a response at 10 a.m. the next day.
The speed of reply is sure to put some pressure on an ongoing investigation by six Philippine government agencies to resolve the case after a private hospital denied that any of its nurses or staff were responsible for the taping incident.
The birth certificate of the almost three-week-old infant reportedly acknowledges Noval as the father, but he still has to submit other requirements to the Embassy to establish the boy’s status as child born abroad to a US citizen in order to acquire US citizenship at birth.
Noval was born in Cebu City but moved to California when he was a teenager. His parents live in the United States.
He returned to Cebu in 2010, where he leads an advocacy to promote biking as a healthier, eco-friendly transportation, and operates a shop that builds and repairs fixed-gear bicycles.
The baby’s mother, Jasmine Badocdoc, is his partner of three years.
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