Newborn baby found in ecobag in Cagayan de Oro

Residents of Calaanan, Barangay Canitoan, Cagayan de Oro City, have rescued a newborn baby that had been abandoned inside an ecobag.

According to a "24 Oras report" by GMA Regional TV's James Paolo Yap on Friday, residents discovered the baby on a roof after it was heard crying around 11 p.m. on Thursday.

“[Nandoon] siya sa ibabaw ng bubong ng isang bahay pero hindi namin siya nakuha sa harap kaya doon kami dumaan sa gilid. Inakyat ng aming barangay police,” said Barangay Canitoan Kagawad Roel Taboclaon.

(It was [found] on top of the roof of a house, but we didn’t get him from the front; we had to pass through the side. The barangay police had to climb up.)

After the rescue, the baby was immediately brought to the hospital for assessment.

“So far, inalagaan naman siya at nakausap na rin ni kapitan at naibigay na ang mga kailangan ng baby. Stable naman po ang baby,” said Calaanan Health Center Medical Officer Dr. Erica Joyce Alfonso.

(So far, we are taking care of the baby, and we also talked to the barangay captain and provided the baby's needs. The baby is stable.)

Meanwhile, the barangay is conducting an investigation to locate the mother of the child.

“Nag-deploy na tayo ng mga BHW para alamin [kung sino ang ina ng bata]; may datos kasi tayo na 14 ina na ang manganganak. May listahan dito sa likod, makikita naman natin… 14 sila mula January 2 hanggang matapos ang buwan, sila ay manganganak kaya pinapuntahan natin,” said Barangay Canitoan Chairman Lancelot Padla.

(We have deployed BHWs [barangay health workers] to find out [who the child’s mother is], since we have data that there were 14 expectant mothers. We have a list here at the back, so we can see… There were 14 of them from January 2 until the month ends, and they were set to give birth, so we sent BHWs.)

Padla said that this is the third time a newborn baby was found abandoned in their barangay.

“Ito, gawain ito ng isang tao na wala sa tamang pag-iisip kasi walang ina ang makakagawa nito kung wala siyang pinagdadaanan na problema,” he said.

(This kind of behavior is exhibited by people who are not in the right state of mind, because no mother can do this unless she’s going through problems.) —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News