Police investigate after 16-year-old's baby found dead in plastic bag

Police are investigating whether the death of a newborn in Tagum City was a case of infanticide.

According to John Consulta's report on "24 Oras," the baby was found lifeless inside a plastic bag in a canal.

The 16-year-old mother of the baby had been rushed to the hospital due to bleeding. Her loved ones thought she was about to give birth.

However, the doctor found out that she already did.

The family went back home to look for the baby, hoping that it was still alive.

The teenage mother reportedly asked some children to clean the bathroom as it was full of blood. 

She was also seen washing clothes but didn't mention anything about giving birth.

“Pagpatay ng isang bata is considered infanticide. And yun lang po yung kailangan nating i-prove din na deliberately yung paggawa ng minor na  ilabas yung bata without seeking medical assistance, at deliberately it was thrown in the canal,” Tagum City police chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Wildemar Tiu said.

(Killing a baby is considered as a case of infanticide. We need to prove that the minor deliberately brought out the baby without seeking medical assistance and she deliberately threw the infant in the canal.) —Vince Ferreras/NB, GMA Integrated News