Gentle Hands head faces raps over alleged kidnapping

A mother on Friday filed a criminal complaint against the executive director of Gentle Hands Inc. (GHI), the orphanage shut down by the government over violations,  for allegedly refusing to return her child despite repeated requests.

In a five-page complaint filed with the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, the mother accused Charity Graff of kidnapping and failure to return a minor under Article 270 of the Revised Penal Code.

According to the complainant, she admitted her son to GHI last January for only one month as she was a single parent and her son’s nanny had taken an indefinite leave.

Since then, she said she started having problems regarding access to her son. At one point, she said she was allowed to see her son for only 10 minutes.

Despite her requests for longer visitation hours, the complainant said Graff restricted her from visiting her son and accused her of being a "worthless mother."

"It came to a point where I would go to GHI in the hopes of seeing my son, only to be totally denied access to him and forcefully sent home by respondent Graff," she said.

Because of this, the complainant said she requested GHI to release her son after two weeks. But instead of obliging, Graff allegedly "started making unreasonable demands."

She said Graff required her to present a Parental Capability Assessment Report (PCAR). However, despite having obtained this, the complainant said Graff still refused to return her son to her.

The complainant said this prompted her to file a complaint before the Office of the President — Office of the Cabinet Secretary. She said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) then sent demand letters to Graff in March.

"During the weeks that I remained separated from [my son], my trauma worsened and I started becoming hopeless," the complainant said.

According to the complainant, her son was among the children who were recovered by authorities after the government shut down  GHI.

Upon presenting her identification to the DSWD, she said she was finally reunited with her son on May 26.

"While I am grateful for this development, I understand that what respondent Graff did was not only cruel but illegal," the complainant said.

Sought for comment, Atty. Ma Cristina Joy Balajadia, the legal counsel of GHI, said they have yet to receive a copy of the complaint.

"We are not aware of the complaint as we have not yet received a copy," Balajadia told GMA Integrated News. "We will answer any complaints in the proper forum." —KBK, GMA Integrated News