Woman nabbed for trying to sell her 3-year-old child for P30,000

A 27-year-old woman was arrested by authorities after attempting to sell her three-year-old child for P30,000.

According to Philippine National Police (PNP) Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) Luzon Field Unit officer-in-charge Police Lieutenant Colonel Armelina Manalo, the suspect was nabbed after covert authorities found an online post regarding the sale of a child who would be coming from Nueva Vizcaya.

“Tinanggap niya ‘yung pera kapalit ‘yung bata na kaniyang ibinebenta sa amin na akala niya ay magiging future parents [She received the money in exchange of the child she was selling to us, who she thought would be the future parents],” she said in an exclusive report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

“Ito ay usually ginagawa online kaya mayroon kaming mga grupo na nag-u-undercover, nagjo-join para sumali sa mga grupo regarding sa baby selling [this is usually being done online, which is why we have groups that go undercover and join groups regarding baby selling],” she added.

While the suspect did not give any statement on the matter, the police said she cited poverty and difficulty in life as the reason for her attempt to sell her child.

“Iniisip nila na mas maganda ang future ng bata kung ito ay ibibigay nila sa iba kapalit ng perang natanggap nila bilang panimula o pambayad sa utang [They think that the future of the child would be better if they would be given to others in exchange for money that they receive as a fresh start or to repay debt],” Manalo said.

The suspect, currently detained in Camp Crame in Quezon City, will face charges for violating the Anti-Human Trafficking Law. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News