LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu – Authorities successfully recovered a child after a statement from another child revealed that their mother had sold their newborn baby sister to buy a new phone.
Catalina Abella, the Gender and Development (GAD) focal person of Cebu City Social Welfare and Services (CSWS), said that a concerned citizen overheard the child’s statement, prompting her to report the incident to authorities.
“Niingon man tong mga bata nga naa na daw sila’y cellphone kay ang ila kunong manghod gibaligya sa ilang mama. Kay mao sad nay chika didto ba, children-to-children nga kung ang bata kuno mabaligya palitan sila ug cellphone,” Abella said.
(The children said they now had a cellphone because their mother allegedly sold their younger sibling. That was also the talk among the children—that if a baby was sold, they would be bought a cellphone.)
On March 7, 2025, Abella said they were alarmed by a social media post from a concerned citizen stating that a child was being sold in Brgy. Duljo Fatima.
Because of this, they immediately investigated the incident together with personnel from Mambaling Police Station 11.
When they arrived at the mother’s house, she admitted to the incident and revealed that she had already handed the child over to a middleman.
“Diha na namo nahibaw-an nga nabaligya na nila unya duna silay recruiter/middleman,” she added.
(That’s when we found out that they had already sold the baby and that there was a recruiter/middleman involved.)
Fortunately, Abella recognized the middleman, who was the mother’s neighbor, and they immediately visited the person’s house.
At first, Abella said the middleman denied the allegation.
“Ni-deny siya pero ang iyang anak miari gyud,” she said.
(The middleman denied it, but their child eventually admitted to it.)
It was later discovered that the mother had sold her 22-day-old infant for P30,000. The transaction allegedly took place while the mother was still in the hospital.
Authorities successfully recovered the baby from the buyer, who was reportedly a nurse, while her husband is a member of the military.
The infant was the woman’s eighth child, and it was also discovered that she had previously sold her seventh child.
The mother claimed she did this due to poverty, but authorities later found out that she was also using illegal drugs.
“Abi namo’g ibaligya tungod sa kawad-on, pero mogamit man sad,” she added.
(We thought she sold the baby because of poverty, but she was also using drugs.)
Meanwhile, Gretchen Bucol, a neighbor of the mother, said they were already suspicious during the mother’s seventh pregnancy when she returned home without a baby.
“Pero miingon man siya nga toa kuno sa iyang igsuon kay seven months, premature, toa daw sa Bohol,” Bucol said.
(But she said the baby was with her sibling because it was born prematurely at seven months and was in Bohol.)
Currently, the mother and her live-in partner, who is the father of the child, are detained at Cebu City Jail. Their seven children, including the recovered baby, are now under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).