BABIES are not merchandise for sale.
A 23-year-old mother from Catarman, Northern Samar found this out the hard way when law enforcers arrested her after she vended her two-month-old child for P60,000 in an entrapment operation last June 1.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a criminal case against the mother whose identity was not disclosed.
The DOJ through the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) said on Tuesday the mother was charged with violation of Sections 4 (g), 6 (a)(d)(o) of Republic Act (RA) 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended, in relation to RA 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.
IACAT said the mother was apprehended during the entrapment operation staged in Barangay Narra in Catarman town.
The DOJ said the buy-bust operation was conducted by the Philippine National Police – Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) together with the Women and Children Protection Desk of Police Regional Office VIII, Catarman Municipal Police Station, and in coordination with the Department of Justice – Regional Anti-Trafficking Task Force (Region VIII), and the Catarman Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO).
“PNP-WCPC was prompted to conduct investigations on illegal adoption online when it received a letter from the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) regarding the proliferation of Facebook groups or accounts facilitating illegal adoption and child trafficking,” the IACAT said.
During the investigation, undercover police officers who posed as buyers managed to get in touch with the mother.
The IACAT said the police officers struck a deal with “the mother who offered to sell them a two-month old child for P60,000.”
“Several days later, the police agent and the suspect agreed to meet at a restaurant in Barangay Narra where the transaction transpired,” it said.
“After the exchange, the suspect was immediately arrested. The two-month old baby and another child of the suspect were rescued and turned over to the Catarman MSWDO,” the IACAT added.
