Woman arrested for ‘abduction’ of fellow street dweller's toddler in QC

A 20-year-old street dweller has been arrested for the alleged abduction of the one-year-and-seven-month-old daughter of a fellow street dweller in Barangay San Bartolome, Quezon City. 

Despite the arrest, authorities said the child remains missing, according to a report of GMA Integrated News’ James Agustin on Unang Balita on Tuesday. 

“Sobrang bigat. Sobrang hirap na po ng ano namin. Ang bigat na sa pakiramdam, hindi na namin alam kung nasaan 'yung anak namin. Nakakain ba siya ng maayos?” said Melvin Lorejas, the father of the missing baby. 

(It's so heavy. It's so hard for us. It's so heavy, we don't even know where our child is. Is she eating properly?)

According to him, they had known the suspect for only around two weeks. 

As their family only earns money by opening doors for customers at a convenience store, Melvin said they accepted her offer to buy food for them.

“Nag-offer po itong suspect sir na siya na po daw sasagot sa ulam namin. Siyempre bilang minus gastos sir, pumayag kami sir,” he said.

(This suspect offered to take care of our meal. Of course, it would cut our expenses so we accepted it.)

“Siguro po mga 10 minutes sir, hindi pa siya bumabalik, kinabahan na kami. 'Yung misis ko, agad na naghanap,” he added.

(Maybe after 10 minutes, she still hasn’t returned, we’re getting nervous. My wife immediately started looking for her.)

In a CCTV footage captured December 10,  the suspect was seen exiting a convenience store while carrying the missing child.

Police officers searched the area but initially failed to locate her. During their second visit, they found and arrested the suspect. 

The suspect is currently detained at the Novaliches Police Station.

She is facing charges for alleged violation of the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, in relation to Article 270 of the Revised Penal Code, which covers kidnapping and failure to return a minor. 

The suspect refused to give a statement, according to the television news report. 

Melvin called on those who saw his daughter to coordinate with their family as police continue their efforts to find the missing toddler. —Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA Integrated News