A two-week-old baby was sold by the biological mother reportedly for P30,000.

The case is being investigated by operatives of the Inter-Agency Council Against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Against Children in Cebu City.

Confirmation that a couple in Barangay Duljo Fatima has sold their own child stirred the neighborhood.

The mother “Nora” (not her real name) left their residence pregnant but returned days after, her baby bump gone. However, she was not with her baby.

The mother’s modus was unraveled when one of her children told neighbors they can now afford a cellphone because the newborn was already sold.

The information reached officials of the said barangay at once who conducted an inspection and verified that the baby was sold for P30,000.

Gender and Development (GAD) officials in Barangay Duljo Fatima are bent to help determine the identity of the middle woman who negotiated with the mother from the time she was pregnant and until the day she gave birth in a public hospital.

GAD officials also learned that this is the second time the mother sold her child.

Prior to the eighth child, the seventh child was sold but the price was not mentioned during the investigation.

Based on information from the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), the payment for the said transaction was done in the hospital.

The asking price started at P57,000 but the transaction closed at P30,000.

Police are keen on having the buyer identified immediately, and other unscrupulous individuals or groups behind the transaction.

Police and the Department of Social Welfare Services (DSWS) have prepared a case for trafficking in person against the mother and the persons who have possible involvement in the crime.

The baby’s parents are under police custody earlier for illegal gambling, according to Police Lt. Col. Maria Theresa Macatangay, CCPO deputy city director for operations.

Meanwhile, the baby was rescued and was turned over to personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7, while the other children were taken in by the mother's relatives with the supervision of the City Social Welfare Office.

The Local Government Unit of Cebu City has ordered tight monitoring of possible similar cases in Barangay Duljo Fatima.

Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia signed the newly formed Inter-Agency Council Against Online and Sexual Exploitation to ensure further protection of children against all forms of abuse.

GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak is yet to get the statement of the hospital where the crime was perpetrated.