A 17-year-old girl was taken into custody yesterday on suspicion that she was the mother of a seven-month-old infant who was found near a pile of garbage in barangay Labangon in Cebu City.
Barking dogs led residents to the baby.
A woman who was annoyed by the loud barking had thought there was a cat nearby.
She approached the dogs and instead found a baby boy on the ground who had no clothes on.
The witness, who requested anonymity, said she then called neighbors for help.
A man who was among the onlookers said in jest that the only way to find out who was the baby’s mother was to strip all the women in the neighborhood.
After he said this, a 17-year-old girl who was among the crowd, scampered away, prompting the villagers and barangay tanods to give chase.
Police said the girl had bloodstains on her legs.
SPO3 Alexander Galleon of the Punta Princesa Police Station said they are still determining whether the girl was the real mother.
The girl and the infant were taken to a hospital.
SPO4 Rey Cuyos, homicide investigator, said social welfare officers are handling the case and will check the girl’s emotional and mental state. Police said it was possible that the girl was the victim of a crime, which resulted in an unwanted pregnancy.