Mother says woman, who reportedly drowned her baby, is suffering from depression

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The 31-year-old woman, who allegedly drowned her 11-month-old baby girl in a pail of water last July 26, has been suffering from depression.

This was revealed by the 60-year-old mother of the 31-year-old woman, who is detained at the Waterfront Police Station after the tragic incident that happened on Friday night, July 26.

The 60-year-old mother said that her daughter was not in her right frame of mind when she allegedly drowned her 11-month-old baby.

READ: Mom drowns her 11-month-old baby in a pail of water

She said the medicine prescribed by a doctor and taken by her daughter can serve as proofs of her daughter’s condition.

“Na stress man gyud ni siya og maayo (She has been experiencing too much stress lately),” said the detained woman’s mother.

She told reporters in an interview at the Waterfront Police Precinct on Saturday, July 27, that her daughter had been suffering from depression for quite a while.

She had been well after she underwent treatment, said the mother.

However, she said that her daughter allegedly got depressed again after her husband left to work abroad about two months ago.

Things took a turn for the worse when her granddaughter, the 11-month-old baby, was admitted in the hospital two weeks ago for high fever.

The 60-year-old mother said they came to Cebu from Misamis Occidental to have the baby checked by a doctor in a hospital here.

Police, in an earlier interview, said that the father of the detained woman claimed that they went to visit a faith healer in Talisay City on July 26 to look into the condition of the baby.

The father said the faith healer told them that the baby had a problem with her teeth and that the healer already treated the baby’s condition.

The father, who accompanied his daughter and granddaughter in their Cebu trip, earlier said that they were set to go home on Monday, July 29 when that tragic incident happened.

No proper meal, no sleep

Meanwhile, the mother of the detained woman said that her daughter was under a stressful environment with what happened to her baby.

The mother said that her daughter did not eat any proper meal and did not have enough sleep in the past two weeks.

Her daughter also failed to take her medicines.

“Wala man siya sa iyang maayong huna-huna nga giligo ang bata (She was not in her right frame of mind when gave the baby a bath),” said the detained woman’s mother.

She said that with her daughter’s condition they should not file a case against her.

Parricide case

But Police Major Joemar Pomarejos, Waterfront Police Precinct chief, told CDN Digital and other reporters in an interview on July 27, said they would file a parricide complaint against the detained woman at the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, July 29.

Pomarejos said that the family could present the medical records and proof of their daughter’s condition to the prosecutor or the court, who would then decide on her fate — whether to free her or prosecute her. / dbs

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Tawag Paglaum Centro Bisaya is a 24/7 call-based hotline for suicide prevention and emotional crisis intervention established in Cebu. Anyone in Central Visayas experiencing a mental disorder relapse or suicidal thoughts may reach the hotline at 0939-936-5433 or 0927-654-1629.