Lanalyn Bitun shares that her live-in partner, Francisco Palacio, allegedly sold their 1-month-old baby to a woman named Catherine Garcia for 5000 pesos.
"Gusto niya hiramin yung bata"
According to Lanalyn, they met Garcia just after she gave birth in the hospital. She shares, "Nag-alok siya na tumulong sa mga gastusin at kailangan ng sanggol, pero gusto niya hiramin yung bata para ipakilala sa mga kamag-anak niya bilang anak niya."
Lanalyn added that Garcia took her and her baby to a hospital in Laoag City, where the child was forcibly taken by Garcia. According to her, Garcia allegedly paid 5000 pesos to the child's father in exchange for the baby. Garcia also threatened that she will kill the newborn if Lanalyn caused a scene or asked for help.
Soon after, Garcia took a passenger bus going to Cagayan, along with the newborn.
He will be charged with human trafficking
The child's father, Francisco Palacio, admitted that he indeed accepted 5000 pesos from Garcia. But he insists that he thought it was money given to him so that they can take care of their newborn child.
Because of what happened, Palacio will be charged with human trafficking for selling his own newborn child. Police are now searching for Garcia as well as the newborn. The authorities are also trying to find out if "Catherine Garcia" is the suspect's name, or if it's an alias.
Police are now searching for Garcia as well as the newborn. According to police chief Ralph Dayag, they will be using CCTV footage that they discovered, showing the woman carrying the month-old baby. The authorities are also trying to find out if "Catherine Garcia" is the suspect's name, or if it's an alias.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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