Talisay resident, who lost child, to receive cash aid

Talisay City Mayor attends the funeral of a baby who died due to complicated childbirth in Barangay Dumlog. | Photo Courtesy of Mayor Gullas

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas assured a father, who recently lost his child due to complicated childbirth, that they would receive assistance from the city government.

Ricardo Dela Cruz Jr. and his wife, who are residents of Barangay Dumlog, lost their child after the baby was choked on its umbilical cord during birth.

The father, who had no money to bury the child, had to borrow cash for the funeral of the baby. The baby died on August 19, 2020, but was left unburied until the morning of August 21, 2020.

Photos of the dead baby reached Mayor Gullas, who was touched by the tragedy and decided to personally help the family.

“At times when I see situations like this, I want to act right away. Most of the time, usually mga staff nako ang mutawag sa affected individuals kung naay maka report nako (usually its my staff who will call the affected individuals if someone would report it to me). But I really wanted to do this personally because ang iyang situation naay similarity sa sitwasyon ni Pining, but different lang ang outcomes namo ni Ricardo,” said the mayor.

The mayor said that his barely one-year-old daughter, Pining, also faced the same circumstance and almost died due to his wife’s complicated pregnancy, but Pining survived the birth and she is often featured on her father’s Facebook page.

Unlike Pining, Ricardo’s daughter did not survive the home birth of the mother, and the family only wished to provide the baby with a peaceful goodbye.

“It breaks my heart to see a fellow father lose his baby to an unforeseen incident.We immediately called the father to inform them that we will help them,” said the mayor.

The city government will also provide cash assistance for the bereaved family, who suffered a great loss during the pandemic.

The mayor also urged kind-hearted souls to help the resident. For donations and help, the family can be contacted through: 09234186045. /dbs